His Own Eyes
by BananaFannaFo
Summary: After meeting a stranger in a bar, Bella spends the night with him. When morning comes and she realizes what she's done, she runs, leaving him with no way to find her. What happens when she is left with a permanent reminder of the man she left behind? *Complete*
1. Prologue

**His Own Eyes  
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**Summary: After meeting a stranger in a bar, Bella spends the night with him. When morning comes and she realizes what she's done, she runs, leaving him with no way to find her. What happens when she is left with a permanent reminder of the man she left behind? Based on the song, "All I Wanna Do (Is Make Love To You) by Heart.  
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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

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><p>Bella walked down the hall of her hotel. Flashes of lightning would illuminate the otherwise dim hallway occasionally from the single window at the end of the hall, followed by the loud booms of thunder, but she kept moving. Passing the elevators, she made her way towards the staircase. She wasn't as worried about making the entire eight floors down in her heels as she was the elevator stopping on her. Knowing what she was planning on doing, she didn't want to risk the chance of some sort of divine intervention stopping her.<p>

The clicking of her heels echoed through the small space as soon as she pushed the door open to the stairs and hit the cement floor. She carefully made her way down the stairs, gripping the hand rails tightly to keep from toppling down. She pushed the door open as she reached the lobby, pulling her silk wrap tighter around her shoulders as the chill from the open entrance doors blew past her.

With her head held high and the conversation with her husband earlier this morning still fresh in her mind, she walked into the hotel lounge, smiling at the host at the podium.

"Welcome to the Starlight lounge, Miss. Will you be joining us for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes. Actually, I'll just have a seat at the bar." she replied. He smiled then, holding his arm out to escort her to the far end of the restaurant where the dimly lit bar sat. She thanked him once they reached it, giving him one last look over before taking her seat towards the center of the bar. He wouldn't do.

She ordered a drink when the bartender approached her, needing something to take the edge off and make what she was about to do a bit easier on her. Moments later the pale pink drink was placed on a napkin and slid in front of her and she quickly grabbed it in her hands, fighting hard to keep her slightly shaking hands from spilling any of the drink, and brought it to her lips. The drink was sweet on her lips but burned slightly on the way down. It was a welcome burn, a burn that promised to make this night as trouble-free as it needed to be.

Bella waved down the bartender and ordered a second drink then, taking it in her hands when it arrived and slightly turning in the bar stool, scanning the rest of the patrons at the bar. To her left was what looked like two business men, probably just finishing up with their days work and relaxing with a couple of drinks. They were both older, it was evident from the salt and pepper hair topping their heads, but not thoroughly unattractive. However, they didn't have anything that she needed tonight. The other side of the bar found pretty much the same thing and she sighed as she turned back around, sipping on her drink leisurely as her mind ran through her other options.

Bella sat there, so stuck on the ideas running rampant in her head, that she didn't even notice when the stranger took his seat a stool away from her. The sound of his voice as he ordered his drink with the bartender caused Bella to turn her head, locking her eyes on the stranger.

He was magnificent.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, he slowly turned his head, meeting her stare head on. Time slowed down for her as their eyes locked; his green gaze piercing through her very soul and causing her insides to sizzle…

He would do.

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><p><strong>Thanks to the wonderful Ima Twi Tard for making this chapter all spiffy! <strong>

**Thanks for reading!  
><strong>

**-Ana**


	2. Chapter 1

"Bella Smith?"

Bella set the magazine she had been reading down on the side table, grabbed her purse and stood up, walking towards the doorway where the woman who had just called her name was standing waiting for her. She smiled as she reached her, murmuring a quiet hello as the woman returned her smile and led her through the hallways. The smell of disinfectant and hand soap lingering in the air were once soothing to her, but the more time she spent here, the less she enjoyed it.

This would be the fifth time in the same amount of months that she had found herself walking down these very halls, staring at the black and white pictures on the wall of newborns that made her heart ache. She wanted it. She wanted it all, but for some reason her body betrayed her.

Thirteen months she had been trying for a child. James and her had practiced religiously after he finally gave the okay to try for a child over a year ago, but it just wasn't working for her. Month after month she found herself in her bathroom, waiting for the test in her hands to show what she desperately longed for, and month after month she would be heartbroken when the test showed one line, or the words that she dreading seeing.

Not Pregnant.

"Here ya go, Hon. The doctor will be right in with you." The nurse said, giving her one last smile before walking back out the door and shutting it behind her with a soft click. Bella had been in this room before but she was glad to be in it instead of the exam rooms with the paper covering the tables and the sink tucked into the corner where hands would be washed after running thorough tests on her. This time she was in the office, Dr. Aro's name proudly plastered around the room on diplomas and certificates.

She took out her cell phone, checking the time and for any messages, anything to calm her nerves a bit at what she would be hearing today. She was scared. Scared of being told that she would never get what she hoped she would have, scared that there was no solution for whatever was wrong with her, but the fact that she had no one to confide in with the information wore worse on her.

She hadn't told James about all her doctor's visits, all the tests, or the fact that there might be something wrong with her. She saw the disappointment in his eyes every time she came out of the bathroom with a negative test but he would just shake his emotions off and promise they'd work harder the next month. He was so determined, she didn't have the heart to tell him there was something wrong with her. So Bella kept everything to herself, kept a smile on her face when her husband would come home from work, excited about getting to work on the child he was so sure they'd have.

She'd have to tell him though. If the tests came back and there was something wrong, they would have to find different options. She hoped it didn't come to that though. The sound of the door opening and papers shuffling around brought her out of her thoughts and had her turning her head, and smiling when her eyes landed on Dr. Aro.

"Isabella! How are you doing this afternoon?" he asked as he shut the door and walked over to his desk, taking his seat in the chair and setting the papers down in front of him. She nodded her head, unable to find the words to choke out because of her nerves and he took one last look at her papers, before shutting the folder which held them closed, and setting his palms on top of it.

"I know you're anxious for the results, so I'm not going to cause you anymore grief. Your test results came back fine, Bella. There seems to be nothing wrong, physically or hormonally, and I see nothing that will prevent you from getting pregnant. "

Bella's vision blurred as tears sprang to her eyes. She lowered her head, letting the tears fall into her lap as she soaked the information in. There was nothing wrong with her. Her body wasn't a traitor, it wasn't conspiring against her to keep her from having children. Relief washed over her as the realization that she was going to be okay coursed through her.

Then she realized what this meant.

She snapped her head up towards the doctor who was still sitting there, watching her. A small smile on his lips which faded as he took in her suddenly panicked look.

"If there's nothing wrong with me…." she started, but was unable to finish. He understood though and nodded.

"It might not be as bad as you think. We can just bring your husband in, run some tests on him and depending on what those results tell us, we can go from there."

Bella shook her head before he even finished the sentence.

"We've done everything right for over a year. Waited until I was ovulating, I bought the right vitamins and ate the right foods… If this hasn't happened yet, and there's nothing wrong with me, then…."

It's him, she finished silently.

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><p><strong>Hi there! :)<strong>

**So, in order to keep this updating in a timely manner, I've decided shorter chapters will guarantee weekly updates. It might update more often, but for right now, lets just say weekly, okay? :)**

**Thanks for reading! :D  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 2

Bella took her time getting back to the office that day. The news she had been given was overwhelming, in a good way as well as bad. It wasn't her body that was betraying her; she was fine. The problem was with her husband. She got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought about telling him. He'd never go to get tested to be sure, he'd be embarrassed and angry if he knew. He'd feel like less of a man.

While their relationship hadn't been perfect, she loved him. They were high school sweethearts. She followed him across country after high school while he went to college, abandoning her plans of going to state with her friends. He would be her life, after all, so why wouldn't she go where he was?

Walking into her building, she took the elevator up to the seventh floor. The doors opened up and she walked out, passing Angela at the front desk and giving her a small smile that said 'we'll talk later', and made her way to the back to her office.

Bella had a good job. She loved it although it wasn't what she had originally wanted to go to college for. She wanted to be a teacher; wanted to change lives, but he convinced her there was better things to do. She figured she was changing lives at this job as well... just differently.

The knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled as Angela made her way inside with a large brown paper bag in one hand and a cup holder holding two drinks in the other.

"Lunch!" Angela said, pushing the door shut behind her and walking over to the end of Bella's desk and setting everything down. They quickly got their food out of the bag, and started to eat. Angela waited a few minutes before finally asking how the doctor appointment went. Besides her boss, Angela was one of her only friends here. They quickly became friends after Bella started working her a few years ago and she was grateful to have her. She had forgotten how it felt to have friends.

Bella quickly told Angela the latest news from the doctor and her plans to not tell her husband.

"But Bella, you've wanted a baby for a long time. If you don't tell him..."

"I can't, Angela. I'll just... keep trying." she said, bringing her eyes back down to her food that she was pushing around the plate with her fork. Angela knew she couldn't say anything else. She knew that when Bella got this way, it was best to just let it go. She was upset enough, Angela didn't want to make it worse.

Angela quickly changed the subject and they got back into conversation. They talked until the clock told them lunchtime was over and it was time for Bella to get to her meeting and Angela to get back to work. Angela grabbed the mess from their lunch, tucked it back into the brown bag and carried it in her hands as she got up and made her way to the door. She took once last look at Bella before she opened the door, the corner of her mouth turning up in a half smile. It hurt her that her friend was so willing to make a man happy that didn't deserve it. James was an asshole; plain and simple. Bella was so blinded by what she thought was love, that she couldn't see, but Angela hoped things would change.

She hoped Bella would someday know what it was to actually be happy.

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><p>Bella walked out of the meeting feeling better. It might have had something to do with the fact that she didn't have time to think about her doctors appointment earlier today. She had just been given a lot of work to do and she didn't have time to waste. There was a new potential client that Hale PR was looking to represent, and it was Bella's job to make sure she landed it. Rosalie told her she would probably have to fly out to New York within the next few weeks to meet with him. She had landed plenty of clients for the firm, but Jacob Black, if he decided to have Hale PR represent him, would be her biggest client yet.<p>

Bella went home early that day, files in her hand filled with things she needed to get done. She wasn't surprised when she saw James' car parked out in front of the house. His job was flexible, and most of it could be done right from his home office, so he had stayed home today. She walked in, yelling out 'hello' but didn't get a response, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but it still irritated her that he could never respond. She set her things down on the kitchen table, the went off towards the office where she found him, typing away on the computer.

"Hey." she said, walking up next to him. He looked back at her, gave a somewhat forced smile, then turned back to his computer screen. She took a seat on the other side of the room, and began to tell him about her day, all except for her appointment this morning.

"We had a meeting today. Rosalie wants me to meet with a new potential client. You'll never guess who-"

"Bella, baby. That's all really fascinating, but I'm trying to get work done. How about you go start dinner?" he cut her off, then turned back towards the screen once again.

Bella got up out of the chair, and walked silently out of the room and into the kitchen. James was busy, he always was.

But he was all she had; all she was familiar with. She loved him. That's all that mattered.

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><p><strong>*sigh* I hate women like this, but no worries! Bella will wake up. Soon.<strong>

**Thanks for reading! xx**


	4. Chapter 3

Bella spent the next few days working and trying her best to find ways to spend time with her husband. He had a lot of work to do so he'd spent a large amount of time in the home office. Bella would go to sleep alone and wake up alone many nights, but she actually didn't mind it too much. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that all her brain could focus on was the results given to her by the doctor. She had many internal battles with herself over whether or not she should tell James but she couldn't work up the courage to say anything.

But she had a plan.

Rosalie had given word that Bella would be going to meet with Jacob Black this upcoming weekend and she thought it would be a good time for James and her to get away. She had the meeting with Jacob Saturday morning at a restaurant in the city. It wouldn't take long for her to meet with him and convince him that he needed Hale PR representing him. It would be quick and then they'd be able to have the rest of the weekend together. It would work. He would love it, they'd have time together and she would try to suggest they go to the doctor together to see what could be done. After all, she thought, James wanted a child as much as she did, right?

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><p>"Hey babe. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bella said, walking into the home office that Thursday afternoon where James was in his usual spot in front of the computer. She took a seat in the corner and began to speak. "I know you're real busy and all but I was wondering if maybe you could join me in New York this weekend. I should be done with the meeting by the afternoon, then we'll have the rest of the weeke-"<p>

"I have to be here on Saturday. That's when Jim is coming back to meet with me." he says, glancing up at her for a second.

"Oh, well. Maybe you can come up after that? After the meeting?"

James sighed then, running his hands over his face and letting out a long breath. He looked back at Bella then and sat back in his seat. "I don't know, Bella. If I can, I will." he says, then turns back to his screen. Bella stood then, gripping his shoulder and giving an 'OK' before making her way out of the room.

It wasn't a no, it was a maybe. With all the answers James could have given her, she'd take the maybe.

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><p>The next morning, Bella woke up early. She had a half day at the office and then had to go straight to the airport after that. After showering and making sure she had everything she needed, she grabbed her bags and made her way out the door, making sure to say goodbye to a busy James who was already up in the office.<p>

She and Rosalie went over some last minute things for her trip and after, they joined Angela for lunch.

Before she knew it, it was time to head to the airport. She hugged her friends as she stood outside of the black town car that would take her, and they wished her luck as she got in. She waved as the car pulled away from the curb and she took out her cellphone to call James and let him know she was leaving.

She got no answer.

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><p>Bella always loved the feeling she got when she saw the bright lights of the city. There was something so amazing about this city- The people, the sights, the food. She loved New york.<p>

She checked into her hotel, and made another call as soon as she got into her room. James still didn't answer. She had been trying for hours to get a hold of him, even going so far as to make a call long after the flight attendant had told her to shut off her phone. She couldn't lie... she was worried, but she remembered how hard he had been working and came to the conclusion that he must just be over his head in work After all, he did have a meeting the following morning as well.

After the long flight, she was exhausted so Bella quickly showered and slipped into the giant bed, clutching her phone tightly in her hand.

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><p>"I'm impressed. I didn't think you guys would have so much information on me." Jacob said, leaning back in his chair and bringing his glass of scotch up to his lips. As if everyone wasn't keeping their eye on Jacob Black. He knew he was important, she just thought he liked his ego stroked a bit.<p>

She'd stroke it all day long if that meant he'd let her represent him.

It didn't take long before they shook hands and Bella thanked him for hiring Hale PR. She made her way out of the restaurant, unable to control the Cheshire grin that had taken up residence on her face. She dialed Rosalie, giving her the good news and letting her know she'd be back Monday afternoon and then made a call to James, knowing he wouldn't answer, as he hadn't the past 50 times she had called.

To her surprise, he answered on call 51.

"Hey."

"James? Why haven't you answered my calls?" she asked, annoyed more than anything at his simple answer. No 'sorry I didn't get your calls' or anything.

"I've been busy, Bella. Now what is it?" he said, irritation evident in his tone.

"I was just wondering if you were going to be able to make it out here?" Bella asked, plastering a smile on my face as she walked up to the town car where the driver, Joe, was holding the door open for her.

"Goddamn it, Bella. I'm fucking working here."

"I realize that, James, but I thought this would be good for us. Maybe all we need is a change of scenery to-"

"To what, Bella? To make a fucking baby?" he spit out, harshly. "You think I don't realize how long we've been trying, Bella? It's obvious it's not going to happen. You're broken, Bella. Polluted."

Her breathing speeds up and tears spring to my eyes.

"What? How could you say that?" I ask, wiping gently under my eyes where some tears have already started to fall.

"Let's face it, Bella. We've been having sex since high school and not once has there ever been a pregnancy scare when, let's face it, we weren't always careful. Now we're supposedly trying and it still hasn't happened."

"There's a reason for all of that..." she starts, unable to control her sobs and the shaking of her limbs as anger and shame overpower her.

"I know. It's you. Have a good time, Bella." he says, and then her phone lets out a tone, signaling the end of the call.

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><p><strong>Prologue should be in the next chapter. <strong>

**Thanks for reading xx**


	5. Chapter 4

Bella stayed in the same position for the whole car ride back to her hotel. Her phone up at her ear as she stared off into space, shocked at what had just transpired. James' s words stung worse than anything she had ever heard before and what made it even worse was the fact that it wasn't even true.

But he believed it to be.

The car door opened and she was brought out of her frozen state as Joe, the driver called her name.

"Bella. We're here." he said and although her heart was broken and her body was shaking, she still managed to give him a small smile and take his hand he held out to her to help her out of the car. Her heels clicked loudly as she made her way inside the lobby, keeping her eyes straight forward as she walked to the elevators, too upset to acknowledge the people she passed who greeted her.

The hurt she felt was slowly dwindling down to nothing and in its place, her anger grew. He had the nerve to say such hurtful things to her, things that he knew would break her and he didn't care. Had he ever, she thought to herself as the elevator dinged signaling that she had reached her floor.

She spent the next few hours either pacing her room, throwing things around it or raiding the mini fridge. As she did that, she thought about how much she had given up by being with James. She had given up her future, following him instead of going to the college she had been dreaming of attending since her freshman year. Her parents and friends from home were distant, not wanting to have anything to do with her when she told them of her engagement.

Bella had been blind; she didn't see what everyone else saw when they looked at him. With six tiny bottles of rum from the mini fridge in her, while her thoughts should have been a drunken, jumbled mess, it was actually the first time she had ever saw straight. James was a prick. She hated that she had wasted years of her life on a man that didn't matter. For fucks sake, he was the only man she had ever had sex with. She laughed then, thinking of all of the offers she had gotten since high school and still did occasionally and how she turned them down because she had a good man at home. A good man whose idea of foreplay was telling her to hop on during commercials was usually finished before the show resumed. He was also a man who thought the female orgasm was a myth.

What the hell was wrong with me, she thought as she quickly chugged the seventh bottle of rum and tossed the empty bottle in the wastebasket.

It was clear now that James didn't love her. A man who loved his wife would never spout off such hate and if, for any reason, one did, they would immediately call and apologize. Bella's phone stayed silent though and that was okay by her. She knew what she wanted to do.

She wanted to go out and experience what she had never experienced before. So before she let her nerves get the best of her, she looked through her suitcase, pulling out the dress she had hoped to wear for a night on the town with her husband, and started to get ready.

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><p>Bella walked down the hall of her hotel. Flashes of lightning would illuminate the otherwise dim hallway occasionally from the single window at the end of the hall, followed by the loud booms of thunder, but she kept moving. Passing the elevators, she made her way towards the staircase. She wasn't as worried about making the entire eight floors down in her heels as she was the elevator stopping on her. Knowing what she was planning on doing, she didn't want to risk the chance of some sort of divine intervention stopping her.<p>

The clicking of her heels echoed through the small space as soon as she pushed the door open to the stairs and hit the cement floor. She carefully made her way down the stairs, gripping the hand rails tightly to keep from toppling down. She pushed the door open as she reached the lobby, pulling her silk wrap tighter around her shoulders as the chill from the open entrance doors blew past her.

With her head held high and the conversation with her husband earlier this morning still fresh in her mind, she walked into the hotel lounge, smiling at the host at the podium.

"Welcome to the Starlight lounge, Miss. Will you be joining us for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes. Actually, I'll just have a seat at the bar." she replied. He smiled then, holding his arm out to escort her to the far end of the restaurant where the dimly lit bar sat. She thanked him once they reached it, giving him one last look over before taking her seat towards the center of the bar. He wouldn't do.

She ordered a drink when the bartender approached her, needing something to take the edge off and make what she was about to do a bit easier on her. Moments later the pale pink drink was placed on a napkin and slid in front of her and she quickly grabbed it in her hands, fighting hard to keep her slightly shaking hands from spilling any of the drink, and brought it to her lips. The drink was sweet on her lips but burned slightly on the way down. It was a welcome burn, a burn that promised to make this night as trouble-free as it needed to be.

Bella waved down the bartender and ordered a second drink then, taking it in her hands when it arrived and slightly turning in the bar stool, scanning the rest of the patrons at the bar. To her left was what looked like two business men, probably just finishing up with their days work and relaxing with a couple of drinks. They were both older, it was evident from the salt and pepper hair topping their heads, but not thoroughly unattractive. However, they didn't have anything that she needed tonight. The other side of the bar found pretty much the same thing and she sighed as she turned back around, sipping on her drink leisurely as her mind ran through her other options.

Bella sat there, so stuck on the ideas running rampant in her head, that she didn't even notice when the stranger took his seat a stool away from her. The sound of his voice as he ordered his drink with the bartender caused Bella to turn her head, locking her eyes on the stranger.

He was magnificent.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, he slowly turned his head, meeting her stare head on. Time slowed down for her as their eyes locked; his green gaze piercing through her very soul and causing her insides to sizzle…

He would do.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he kept his eyes on her for a moment, and she watched as the bartender slipped an amber colored drink in front of him and green eyes slipped a bill towards him murmuring for him to keep the change.

"What's a beautiful woman like you doing at the bar alone?" he asked, pointing the the stool in between them. She raised a shoulder slightly, silently letting him know that the seat was very much vacant and as he took it, his scent permeated her senses. He smelled amazing, like sunshine, clean laundry and man.

Bella didn't think twice as they started to flirt or as the drinks started flowing. Her mind wasn't on her husband as the stranger rested his hand on her bare knee and she turned in her stool, bringing their bodies closer together. Bella could think of nothing but the man in front of her as they made their way out of the lounge and into the elevator.

It also didn't bother her one bit that she didn't know the stranger's name as his arms wrapped around her and their lips met before the elevator doors had even closed.


	6. Chapter 5

The hot streams of water pounded out of the shower head, soothing Bella's sore body as she breathed in the steam collecting in the glass shower. What usually was a relaxing thing for her, wasn't on this morning and it had everything to do with how she had started her day.

_Bella awoke early that morning. Her head was pounding and she had to squint against the bright rays of sunshine that peeked through the opening in the curtain. She stretched her arms above her head, hearing the cracks as she stretched her limbs and then turned her head towards the alarm clock on the nightstand. 6:06 am. Way too early for her to be up, so she turned her head, fully intending to go back to sleep but her plan went to shit when she realized she wasn't alone in the bed._

_A mess of reddish hair was in her line of vision and she was baffled for all of a second before memories of the night before came flooding back to her._

_A stranger's smile. The burn of alcohol down her throat. Her flirty giggles as they spoke. His hands on her. Her hands on him. The cool floor of the hotel room as he laid her down. The feeling of her dress sliding off her body. The hardness of his chest as he knelt between her legs. The warmth as his body covered hers..._

_Bella fought back the gasp she felt coming and with wide eyes, she slowly crept out of bed. As quiet as she could, she tip toed around the stranger's room, picking up a shoe, then her dress, followed by her bra and then her other shoe before grabbing her purse where it lay scattered near the entrance._

_After one last look at the man in bed, she couldn't just leave him to wake up with nothing but an indented pillow with her scent on it and foggy memories of the night before. She grabbed the hotel notepad sitting on the table near the door and grabbing a pen, she penned a quick note and left the room._

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><p>She left the shower, drying off and dressing fast and then collecting her bags and calling down for the bellboy. Her flight wasn't until later on that night but Bella needed to leave. She didn't know how to handle the feelings that she suddenly felt; how to handle the thoughts she had running through her mind.<p>

One thing was certain though- James wasn't the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. For a stranger to show her more affection and comfort in the few hours she had spent with him than James had their entire time together, was a clear sign.

Bella thought she was glad she didn't exchange names with her stranger. She needed last night. But as she got into the town car, and the car started moving, she couldn't help but regret the decision as she looked up at the hotel and hoped that her and her stranger crossed paths again one day.

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><p>The heat from the sun coming in the window warmed his skin. He smiled against his pillows, remembering how he had spent the last couple of hours. She was everything he wanted and although the night had been excited with the secrecy of not sharing names, he had every intention of learning everything about her. Turning over, his smile faltered as he was met with the empty side where the beauty one lied. He sat up quickly, looking towards the bathroom hoping to see her form in front of the mirror getting ready for the day or hear the shower start, but he was met with none of those things.<p>

She was gone.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the phone ringing loudly on the nightstand.

"Hello" he said, surprised at the sound of his voice as it came out rough, practically scratching his throat with each syllable.

"Hey, man. What's going on with your cell? I've tried it at least five times this morning."

His phone was on silent, in the pocket of the pants he wore last night which were now puddled on the floor by the bed where he had left them.

"Sorry Jay, I didn't hear it." he said, getting up to go get a drink to help ease the pain in his throat.

"Sure man. You sound like you had a good night." Jay says, chuckling. "what did you end up doing?"

He opened the mini fridge, pulling out a bottle of OJ and gulping down half. He wouldn't tell Jay what happened the night before, not over the phone anyway so he made plans to meet him for breakfast at the diner they always ate at when he was in town.

After hanging up the phone, he showed and dressed. His mind was still on the beauty from the night before and he thought about their conversation the night before, trying recall any information she had given that would help him find her. All he could remember was her telling him that she was here on business and would be leaving the city Sunday night. Tonight. He would find her; he had to-

A note on the table near the door caught his attention as he went to leave. He walked over, grabbing the thin sheet and began to read.

_Thank you for showing me how it should truly be._

_Don't try to find me, please. _

_Just live in my memory, as you will in mine._

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><p><strong>Until next time... xoxo<strong>_  
><em>


	7. Chapter 6

**If you can't legally vote yet, you need to skip over this part... **_  
><em>

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><p><em>The sound of the door closing was barely heard over their breaths. Their mouths attached, moving frantically over one another. Hands roamed, moving over flesh, fabric and more flesh and they each smiled against the others lips. They felt the goosebumps rise under fingertips and knew for once it wasn't because of the chill in the room. <em>

_They moved through the room blindly, too focused on one another to take notice of their surroundings. As they moved, they left their discarded clothes; ripping them off and tossing each article of clothing over their shoulder, not caring where they landed. They just wanted more. More to touch, more to taste, more to feel._

_She couldn't wait. The bed felt too far. She needed him. Sinking down to her knees, he joined her. Laying her back gently until she felt the cool floor under her. Slowly, his body met hers, inch by inch he covered her like a blanket. Her hands dug deep into his hair, pulling, tugging, pushing. _

_He spread her with his knees, his lips on her neck. He filled her as her nails sunk into his back. Her body arched off of the floor, her soft gasp filling the air. He moved, closing his eyes and groaning as he slid back in. Her arousal coated him and with each pass, more poured from her. _

_They neared their peak and their eyes met. She held him tighter to her and he peppered kisses all over her. His forehead rested against hers and his eyes were on her. Burning. _

"_Tell me I'm not the only who feels this." He whispered, as his movements quickened. She only moaned in response, driven wild by the way his hips were meeting hers._

"_It's never been like this..." He said as she tumbled over the edge, shaking and yelling as her eyes clenched shut and her head lifted to bring her lips against his. He followed her over the edge, crying out as he filled her. _

_Minutes passed. They didn't move. They held on to each other, fighting against the nagging realization that this would all end soon. Neither wanted to believe it. _

_He removed himself from her, pulling himself up and standing before her. She looked up at him, knowing it must be over._

_He held his hand out for her, and she grabbed it. He lifted her swiftly off of the ground, her body crashing against his as she stood. The corner of his mouth lifted and his eyes blazed. _

_Then instead of turning her towards the door, he lifted her and walked into the bedroom to start all over again._

Bella made her way through the airport, the dream she had on the flight still fresh in her mind. She flushed remembering how he made her feel, how every move he made brought her more pleasure than she had ever known. It was as if he was an expert in her; like he was made for her.

She tried her best to shake the thoughts out of her head, they had no place there. She should be thinking of how she was going to handle these next few hours. She thought of ways to tell James it was over, she wasn't happy, but she couldn't find the words. She watched her city whiz by her as the car sped through the roads, fighting to keep green eyes from invading her mind.

She still had nothing as she pulled into her driveway, opting to leave her bags in the car for right now. She could get them after she did this.

She practiced her speech in her head as she walked up to the door.

"_James, we need to talk..."_

As she closed the door behind her.

"_I can't live like this anymore..."_

As she walked down the hallway.

"_We've been together since we were kids and I think marriage was just the next step we figured we had to take..."_

As she stood outside of the closed office door.

"_We were wrong, James. I can't lie to myself anymore. I deserve more than this..."_

As she opened it and saw an empty chair and a black screen. Maybe he was in the bedroom...

"_I'm sorry but, I'm just not in love with you anymore..."_

As she walked to the bedroom door and heard the noises coming from the other side. The rustling of sheets, the smacking of lips, the squeaks of the bed. Her speech suddenly didn't matter anymore as she turned the knob, throwing the door open and letting it hit the wall with a loud thump. Wide eyes met hers and she felt the fear, shock and embarrassment as it coursed through them and she laughed.

This was only more confirmation that she felt no love for the man she had shared her life with for the past couple of years. Where any other woman still in love with her husband would feel hurt, would probably cry and get angry, Bella felt relief.

The speech she had practiced was no longer necessary, instead she said just four words to them...

"Get the fuck out."

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><p><strong>Until next time... xoxo<strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Cut this chapter in half since it wasn't finished and I wanted to update today. Next chapter is almost done and will be up Tuesday.**

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><p>He sat at the table, alternating between staring down at the white tablecloth and looking out the large glass floor to ceiling windows onto the busy city buzzing by outside. Jay was late, which was nothing new, but he wished he'd hurry up.<p>

He could use the distraction.

The letter beauty had left him replayed over and over in his mind. Her words, her pleading with him not to find her, especially after the night they shared together pained him. He didn't understand at all. They had shared more than just their bodies that night. What they had was something more, something he had never felt before... and there was no chance he would let it go.

Jay chose that moment to appear, cell phone up to his ear and a wide smile on his face as he spotted him across the restaurant. He made his way to the table, holding up one finger as he finished his phone call and took his seat across from him.

"I can't wait to see what you guys can do for me... Yes... Okay, thank you Rosalie." He said, and ended the call. "Sorry, man. You been waiting long?" he asked, picking up the menu and looking over it for a second.

"Eh, twenty minutes or so. It's good though. What you been up to?" He asked, locking eyes with the waitress across the room who earlier, he had told to come back when his friend arrived. They gave their drink and food orders quickly and Jay answered once the waitress had left.

"Nothing, man. I might finally have a new PR team. I met with one of the agents yesterday and she seemed good. I think things might be looking up soon." Jay said. He was happy for his friend. Jay or as the public knew him, Jacob Black was the son of William Black, owner of some of the most lavish hotels on the east coast. He had known Jacob since they were kids; they grew up together but parted ways after high school. While everyone else was studying hard to finish school, Jacob was partying it up, spending his family's money and bringing shame upon the business that William had worked so hard to create.

He got back in contact with Jacob after the most recent tabloid scandal a few months ago which involved a high class escort and heavy drug use allegations. William had had enough and threatened to take everything away if he didn't wake up and start acting like the future owner his father wanted him to be.

After the drinks came, Jay took a sip and looked over to his friend.

"What's been going on with you, E? You look like you had a rough night." he said, snickering into his glass.

"Yea, I don't really want to talk about it." He said, to which Jay set his glass down and raised his arms up in surrender, keeping the grin on his face.

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><p>He didn't mention his night with beauty that day. Instead, they talked about what was going on in their lives in the upcoming months. E was only in town until tomorrow, then he would go on to Miami for a medical conference his father was speaking at and after that, he would go on his first vacation since starting his residency three years ago. They went their separate ways and as he laid down on his bed in the hotel room, her scent assaulted him.<p>

He wouldn't rest until he found her.

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><p>Bella wished she could be surprised at how quick James and his guest left. She also wished she could find some emotion about the whole situation that might have been appropriate for a woman in her position. She should have felt angry, or upset or betrayed... but she felt none of that. She was relieved as he walked out of the room, hand in hand with the other woman. She was happy as he said his goodbyes, calling her every name in the book and blaming everything on her. She was ecstatic as she watched his car back out of the driveway.<p>

She was at peace as she walked back into her house where she no longer had to put on a show for her husband or herself. Her night with her stranger had shown her what she should have, and a marriage she felt trapped in was not it.

Bella laid in her bed that night, after changing the sheets, and stared up at the ceiling as she thought about just how much her life was going to change. For the better. She tried to keep her stranger from entering her thoughts and had succeeded up until she drifted to sleep.

Green eyes and whispered words filled her dreams that night and she realized just how difficult it would be to just move on and forget him.


	9. Chapter 8

"That piece of shit..."

"What an asshole..."

Rosalie and Angela spoke at the same time after Bella rehashed the events of the day before. She sipped on her coffee as the girls continued to voice their opinions on what should be done to James. Castration and beheading came up but Bella just sat back in her desk chair and laughed.

"Are you okay? I mean, I know you've got to be heartbroken..." Rosalie said, looking at her with concern.

"No, actually. I feel fine. Relieved, really." Bella said, and both woman looked at each other before looking back to Bella. Angela took in her best friend, truly looking at her for the first time today. Bella looked better than she had looked in months. There was a freshness to her, a happiness she hadn't seen in a long time.

"What's going on? Are you in such shock at what happened and this is how you're coping or is there something else we don't know..." Angela said, and when the side of Bella's mouth turned up in a grin, she knew there was something she was hiding. They pestered her, harassed her for the reason Bella was so non nonchalant about what had happened but Bella wouldn't spill.

It wasn't until lunch time, when they all sat at their table in the middle of the China Palace that Bella told them.

Angela was shocked. She couldn't believe this was the same Bella who wanted nothing more than to be with James, to have his child and live happily ever after just a few days before. She was happy for her friend, but Rosalie was another story.

"Wait, so you cheated too?" She asked, looking from Bella to Angela, hoping to see the same reaction in her.

"I don't think of it that way..." Bella said, grabbing the straw in her drink and moving it around, the clicking of the ice hitting the glass being the only sound at the moment while Rose stared at her friend in disbelief.

"Think of it however you want to, Bella, but you cheated."

"Rose..." Angela started, but Rose held her hand up.

"Bella, we all know how big of an asshole James was but that doesn't mean it was okay to cheat. I mean, you pretty much just stooped to his level."

Bella's eyes didn't leave her glass as Rose's words sunk in. Angela wanted to chime in so bad with something in support of Bella. Not of her cheated but of her finally waking up and realizing she deserved better, but Rose was right. Minutes passed before Bella looked up at her friends, shook her head and fought back the tears that threatened to escape.

"I know it was wrong..." she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "but I've never felt the way he made me feel before. I can't even explain what he did to me but I want to feel it again. It's how I should feel."

"You don't even know this guys name, Bella." Rose pointed out and Bella shook her head. She didn't know his name. He also was staying in a hotel which meant he wasn't from there as well which meant it would be nearly impossible to find him... but she wanted to at least try.

"I'll find out. I'll find him again and we'll..."

"No." Rose said, shaking her head as her eyes met Bella's, "You can't Bella. I understand how he made you feel but it's not right. Just take that shot of confidence her gave you and run with it. You can't find him, Bella... just remember what you had, lock it up in your mind and move on." Rose stood then, taking out a fifty dollar bill from her purse and leaving it on the table before walking to the exit.

Bella looked up at Angela then before standing herself and grabbing her bag. Angela reached out just as Bella was about to walk away, grabbing her arm.

"Rose might be right that cheating was the wrong thing to do, but I don't even care about that, Bella. I've never seen you so happy before and if all it took for you to realize you deserved better than what you had, then I support you and I'll help you find him..."

Bella let the tears fall as she looked at her friend.

"No Ange. She's right. It was stupid of me to think like I was. Let's just go, OK?" she said, and left, leaving Angela standing at the table and wondering what Rose's words would do to her.

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><p>it was late when Bella got home, way past her usual time of getting home. As she pulled into the driveway, her headlights illuminated the front of the house and she saw that the blinds were opened when she hadn't opened them this morning. She shut off her car, sure that maybe she just didn't remember opening them but when she opened the front door she realized that wasn't the case.<p>

Her living room was missing pretty much everything. Couches, love seat, armchairs, lamps, tables, rugs-all gone. Her vision blurred suddenly, a result of her eyes filling with tears. As if it wasn't bad enough hearing what rose thought of the situation with her stranger, this just put the icing on the cake. James had ransacked the place, taking everything, most of which Bella had bought with her own money.

With tears trailing down her face, Bella set her purse down on the floor where the table usually sat. She walked down the hall, towards the bedroom and when she flicked the light on she didn't even bother looking at what was gone. She simply tore off her clothes, walked over to where her bare mattress lay on the ground and she laid down.

She didn't sleep, she couldn't. Instead, she thought of where life had taken her and she cried.

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><p><strong>Poor Bella... <strong>


	10. Chapter 9

_The light from the booming city filtered in through the window, displaying a flicker of color on almost every surface in the room. Especially on the woman in front of him. He watched her, marveled at how beautiful she looked in this light, the curve of her hips, her hair fanned out on the pillow. He couldn't help but reach his hand out towards her and begin to run his fingertips along her flesh. He smiled as her skin burst out in goosebumps and replaced his fingers with his hand, running it over the small bumps. _

_She let out a small sigh as his hand traveled upwards, running over her stomach and towards her chest. She turned towards him then, with a sleepy smile on her face. Their eyes locked and although the room was partially dark, they could both tell what the other was needing. _

_Without words, she moved closer to him, pushing her body against his and bringing her face to his, sighing against his lips as hers met them. They took their time once again, touching, caressing, bringing each other to levels of pleasure that neither had ever experienced. As they came down from their high, he placed a soft kiss on her lips._

"_My Beauty..." he whispered, but she was already asleep, clearly exhausted from the night they shared. He looked out the window onto the city that was still busy even though the sky was beginning to lighten, the daylight coming quickly. He wanted to stay here, watching her sleep beside him but his exhaustion was getting to him. He gripped onto her tighter, kissing the top of her head once more before closing his eyes. _

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><p>"I'm sorry, sir. I'm not authorized to give out that information." The voice on the other side of the phone said. Edward didn't respond, tired of hearing the same response no matter who he talked to. It had been useless, he couldn't find anything about Beauty anywhere.<p>

He had tried everything he could think of, but with no results. He didn't know what to do.

His phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts and he looked at the screen and answered when he saw Jay's name.

"Hey Jay."

"E! How was your vacation?" he asked and Edward wished he could say it had been great, but the fact that he tried the whole time to find the girl who had invaded his thoughts since that night three weeks ago and failed made it anything but. Still he decided to tell him it was fine, which Jay believed and then Edward asked about what he had been up to.

"Great. Man, my PR agent is great. I've been in the papers at least twice a week since I hired her and its all been good things this time." He said with a chuckle and Edward couldn't help but join in. He was a good friend, listening to everything Jay talked about. He even managed to laugh when Jay told him he should come back out to New York soon to meet his PR agent, Bella. He said she was his type, but Edward turned that idea down quickly.

No other girl would be his Beauty.

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><p>"OK, bring it in here... Be careful with the wall! OK, set it down right there."<p>

Bella watched as the delivery guys set her new couch down, ripping off the plastic covering and looking to her for approval. She smiled, nodding her head and thanking them. They bunched up the plastic that had accumulated in her living room from all her new furniture and left Bella to look over her new space.

It had been about four weeks since she came home to find James with another woman. It also had been around four weeks since she walked in her home to find pretty much everything missing. She had been upset at first but she was over it now. She was on to better things.

James had been served with divorce papers and to celebrate her upcoming freedom, she redecorated. A fresh new look for her fresh new life.

She watched the delivery truck pull away from the curb in front of her house and then down the street and after it disappeared from sight, she ran back to her bedroom taking in her new space. She didn't want any memories of James and her marriage, which was pretty simple since he had taken mostly everything. She had everything new, ready for her to make new memories.

She looked to the clock on her new nightstand, seeing that it was just half an hour before Angela was supposed to be coming over. She had helped Bella pick out mostly everything and wanted to come and see how it looked. They also had a girls night planned. Movies were waiting to be watched, snacks were waiting to be eaten and Angela was bringing the drinks. It was going to be a good night.

Her stomach growled then, making Bella realize that she hadn't eaten since this morning and it was now early evening. She walked to her kitchen, opening her refrigerator to look for something to eat and pulled out a lean cuisine, popped it into the microwave and grabbed a bottle of water and started to take small sips as she waited for the food to cook.

The room filled with the smell of the Parmesan crusted fish and while it used to be a scent that Bella loved, right now it was causing her stomach to turn. She quickly ran to the sink as she felt the bile rise up in her throat. When she was finished emptying everything from her stomach, she turned the water on, rinsing her mouth out and grabbing a paper towel.

'What was that?' she said to herself, truly flabbergasted as to why that just happened.

No longer hungry, she decided to go to her bathroom to clean her mouth more thoroughly. She reached under the sink to grab the mouthwash when her hand came into contact with a box she should have used to contents of two weeks ago. She set the tampons on the counter, staring down at them as if they held the answer for the millions of questions rushing by lightning fast in her mind.

Two weeks ago. She was two weeks late.

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><p>It took forever for Bella to finally snap back into reality. It couldn't be. She was stressed, that's all.<p>

"Don't be stupid, Bella." she said to herself as she reached back under the sink for the box of pregnancy tests she had kept there from before. "Just take one so you'll get these crazy thoughts out of your head."

She laughed at herself as she took the test, setting it down on the counter to wait the three minutes for her mind to be put at ease. This was silly. She was going through a lot, divorce, stress from that and stress from work... all good reason for why she was late.

But minutes later when her doorbell rang, Bella answered it, her shocked, wet eyes staring at Angela's cheerful ones which quickly matched Bella's after she uttered her next words.

"Ange... I'm pregnant."


	11. Chapter 10

**Super short, but just needed to get this out there. **

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><p>It had been months since that night and each day, Beauty's memory slowly started to ease it's way out of his mind. He would think of her on occasion, but without any clue to who she was or where he could find her, he knew it was all he had left.<p>

Slowly but surely, he brought himself back to the life he had known before her, before the stranger took a a hold of his life without even sharing her name. He worked hard, he went out, he had fun. He was actually able to be happy and had hope that maybe he would find what he was missing elsewhere. That he would find love elsewhere.

His hopes became reality when he met Tanya. She was beautiful, intelligent and everything he could ask for in a woman. She started working as a nurse at his hospital about two months or so after that night. It took him awhile to stop resisting the pull he felt to her, to get over the feeling of guilt he felt when time with Tanya started to replace memories of Beauty, but he did, for the most part.

Each day with her had feelings stirring in him he had never felt before. He loved her, knew he did, and 8 months after dating, he proposed. She moved in quickly after that and they made a home together. She was perfect...

But sometimes, as he laid in bed at night he'd look over to see the flash of blonde hair and have a sinking feeling when he realized that maybe this was all wrong. The blonde hair was wrong, the scent was wrong, the feeling of her skin was wrong...

The fact that it wasn't _her _was wrong.

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><p>Bella looked down in the bassinet, fully captivated by the little person laying in it. Her baby. <em>Her baby.<em>

Pink chubby cheeks, parted lips and a head full of auburn hair. He was beautiful. He was hers. And his.

She looked over to the clock on the nightstand and wasn't at all surprised when she saw it was nearing four in the morning already. She found she spent most of her nights like this, staring down at the perfect creature who laid sleeping beside her, thinking about how their life would be. She wondered if it would bother him that he didn't have a father, wondered if she would be enough for him. She wondered if he would ever ask about him and thought about what she'd say when he did.

She never wanted him to resent her for the choices that she made and she hoped he wouldn't.

Bad choices or not, they gave Bella him.

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><p><strong>A little glimpse into the future... next one will be what has happened in the last couple of months. Also, coming up soon is Stranger and Beauty's reunion... ;D<strong>

**See ya soon**


	12. Chapter 11

Bella wished she could say that the time flew by. While it felt like it had now, the days leading up to this day were achingly slow.

The day she found out she was pregnant was both the worst and best day of her life. She had gotten what she always had wanted, but was forced to go through the journey on her own with no one to share it with. Angela had been a great friend throughout the whole thing, and Rose eventually came around and was amazing as well, but neither of them were husbands, boyfriends or partners and Bella found herself thinking of her life and what was to become of it.

"Lots of women are single mothers" they would say. "You're not alone, you have us" they'd say, and while Bella knew her baby would have two amazing aunts with him all along the way, she couldn't fight off the guilt that he wouldn't have a father to teach him things. Would he want to play football? Baseball? Would he resent her for not giving him a male role model to look up to, to show him all these things.

She supposed she would find someone someday. Someone to be all that and more to her son, someone to love her like she deserved and love her son more. But she was afraid. Afraid that she would never be able to give her heart to anyone else, because as silly as it sounded, her heart stayed with her stranger. He had taken it that night and she was sure she'd never feel anything like she felt that night again.

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><p>The doors of the supermarket opened, causing a rush of cold air from inside to blow Bella's hair back. The tiny laugh from the seat of the shopping cart had her looking down and smiling at her little miracle. At ten months old, he was already a ball of energy. He would spend his days crawling around, doing laps around her living room and trying to get his hands on anything and everything he could.<p>

She pushed his unruly hair back and placed a kiss on his forehead before turning the cart towards the produce. She would have to make this quick, knowing that once he got bored, Masen would become the Tasmanian devil, whipping around and trying to jump out of the cart.

Masen was her world. He became her world the second she found out he was on his way, and even more so when she first set eyes on him. The past few months had been difficult though.

After she gave birth, instead of just being able to enjoy the peace with her new baby, Bella had to go through countless amounts of drama. After not seeing or hearing from James throughout the whole pregnancy, he showed up just before Masen turned a week old. His fling had dumped him, leaving him stranded and lonely. He begged her, pleaded for her to take him back "for their child" and Bella could barely hold in her laughter when those words left his mouth. What followed then was a long process in which James petitioned to have a DNA test to prove he was the father of Masen. He also found every way possible to make her life a living hell, only promising to stop if she took him back.

Rosalie and Angela could barely hold their chuckles in when she had told them about James wanting a DNA test. There was no doubt about it that James wasn't the father of Masen. Even a a few days old, it was obvious that Masen held no resemblance to James. Looking down at him now Bella smiled at just how much he looked like his father.

Masen's hair was the same wild reddish brown and his eyes were the same deep jade that she stared into a year and a half ago as her heart left her body and clung to her stranger. He was her little memory of that night and she would cherish him and love him all the days of her life.

Bella stayed strong, and when the DNA test came back that James was not the father, he snapped. He wanted to change the conditions of the divorce since Bella had been unfaithful, even trying to get spousal support since she was the breadwinner but Rosalie had gotten her a great lawyer. Bella walked away with just her house that she was living in when the divorce was final and she was okay with that. She didn't care about anything else, she didn't want anything from James, just wanted him out of her life and that day in the courtroom was the last time she had seen him. Although she had won the house in the divorce, Bella could hardly stand living there with all the memories that assaulted her every single day, so before long she put the house on the market and moved to the one place she had always wanted to live in.

New York.

"Apples, Masen. Can you say apples?" she cooed to him. He looked up at his mother, sparkling eyes and wide grin as he babbled his best try at repeating the words. Bella continued to walk around the store, collecting everything she needed and saying the names of the items for Masen to repeat in his adorable baby babble. When she got everything she quickly made her way to the checkout lane and began unloading her cart.

"Why, hi there, sugar. Aren't you just the cutest little thing." The cashier said. Masen looked at her, showing her a wide grin which would make anyone melt. She continued talking to him, making him laugh and laughing along with him and as Bella pulled out her credit card to slide, the cashier said something that made Bella stop what she was doing and look up in shock at her.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, unsure of whether or not she had heard right.

The cashier smiled, and repeated herself. "I said he's such a handsome little guy. Looks so much like his daddy." she said, nodding her head behind Bella. Before she could correct her and apologize to the poor man behind her who was assumed to be the father, she looked back and met a familiar pair of eyes. Familiar not only because they were they exact shade and shape that she had seen for the past ten months in her son, but also because they were the eyes that pierced hers as her soul was captured by him.

Her stranger.


	13. Chapter 12

"Edward, these are absolutely stunning. Should we get four or eight?" Tanya said, standing in front of the display holding crystal candlesticks.

"You already got candlesticks, remember?" he said, remembering the package that had come in not too long ago in the mail containing the items.

"Ugh, those were from Target or somewhere cheap. These are Elsa Paretti..." she said, trailing off as if the name alone made any sense to him.

"They're also $250 a piece. Seems a little too expensive for something that's just going to have wax dripping down it." Tanya scoffed, rolling her eyes as she scanned eight.

"They're not going to be lit, silly. They're just for decoration." she said as she moved along to the next display containing china.

"So, $2000 for something that will be seen and never used? Maybe you can just give that money to me and I'll just stand in the corner as decoration." She shushed him, keeping her eyes on the plates that would probably be just for decoration as well.

Edward walked away, leaving her to choose what she wanted for the wedding registry on her own. He took a step outside, taking a deep breath of the cold city air.

Three months.

Three months until the wedding and Edward felt...different. Months ago, he would have said he was excited and looking forward to it, but as each day passed, he found himself getting more and more detached. He loved Tanya, but once he slid the ring on her finger, and she picked a date, she had changed.

The cell ringing from his pocket brought him out of his thoughts and he smiled when he saw the name on the screen.

"Hey man. What's going on?" he said.

"Nothing much man, how are things going?" Jay said.

"Good. Just outside of Tiffany's while Tanya finishes the registry."

"No shit? I'm a couple blocks away from there. Wait for me." Jay said, hanging up. Edward placed his phone in his pocket and waited.

And as he stared at the bustling city before him and thought about what had just happened in the store, he asked himself one question- Do you really want to do this?

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><p>It didn't take long for Jay to show up in front of the store. The two friends quickly greeted each other and, as friends do, quickly got into conversation. It hadn't been long since they had seen one another, especially with Tanya making him take almost weekly trips out to the city, but it felt like forever since he had seen him. Or maybe it felt like forever since he had a friend or someone he could talk to around. Edward congratulated Jay on his recent nomination for Chase magazine's Man of the year and Jay couldn't fight the smile that stretched across his face.<p>

"Thanks man. It was all my PR agent though. Bella's been amazing. Ever since she's been back after having her baby, she's been a beast... in a good way." Edward smiled at his friends words. He always spoke highly of Bella and he was glad he had finally found someone to whip him into shape.

The doors opened and the click of heels alerted them to Tanya's approach.

"Hey Jay." She said, not hiding the irritation in her voice.

"Hey. I gotta get to a meeting. I'll see you later, E." Jay said, pulling out his phone quickly to call for his car. Tanya tucked her arm into his and they started to walk back to their hotel.

Neither spoke the whole way there.

* * *

><p>"Edward. I have a splitting headache. Could you go to the store and pick up some aspirin?" Tanya asked, gripping tightly to her temples as she stared down at the mountain of paperwork in front of her. Her and the wedding planner, Julie had been at this all day, working on the seating arrangement. Edward had started to help hours ago but decided to leave it to the girls when he realized just how difficult it was.<p>

"_Leslie can't sit near Phillip since they had a nasty break up and cousin Mary is still upset with Uncle Carl..."_

"Aspirin. Anything else?" he asked, making his way to the hall of the hotel room, grabbing his sweater and looking back at the table where the girls sat.

"Maybe some wine..." Tanya said, looking to Julie who slowly nodded her head, exhaustion clear as day in her face. "Make that a lot of wine."

Edward made his way the few blocks to the supermarket, wanting to grab what Tanya wanted as well as a few things for him. He grabbed a basket, making his way through the aisles and filling it with what he needed as well as somethings he didn't. When he was satisfied with the amount of junk food he had, he made his way to the check out counter and started to put his things on the belt. He placed the basket at the end of the belt and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and as he brought his head up, his eyes locked on a child in the cart in front of him.

The child was adorable, but that's not what made Edward stare. It was the fact that he had seen that face, the hair, those eyes before.

Everyday in the mirror.

"He's such a handsome little guy. Looks so much like his daddy."

As the woman ahead of him turned, he froze. It was his beauty... with a baby, that there was no denying, looked exactly like him. The baby grinned, showing his few teeth, but Edward stayed frozen, bringing his eyes back to beauty. The ends of her mouth started to turn up, as if she was about to smile but that quickly disappeared as she took in his expression.

She threw her bags in the cart and quickly walked away, and Edward didn't snap out of it until he watched her slam the doors on her car parked on the curb and before he could make it outside, she disappeared from sight.


	14. Chapter 13

**I must have wrote and deleted this chapter 100 times... I hope I got it right.**

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><p>Edward brought his hands up to his hair, gripping tightly in frustration as he fought the urge to start running, hoping he could catch up. He had no idea which way she had gone, but after seeing what he just did, he knew he had to find her now.<p>

His heart beat loudly in his own ears, his body flush with heat although the chill in the air should have had him shivering. He must have stood out on that curb for a while, but as he came to he decided it was time to share what happened that night. He needed to talk to Jay.

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><p>Jay sat on his couch, elbows on his knees, head spinning with the bombshell Edward had just dropped on him. It all made sense now.<p>

He remembered that day. Remembered how Edward seemed distracted and how he continued to be months later and seeing the look on E's face now, he knew he had to help.

"So, what? You want to find this girl?"

"I think she might have my baby, Jay, I need to find her." he said, continuing to pace the floor in front of Jay.

"OK. Let me get my coat." Jay said, standing up from the couch and walking into his bedroom. He knew he had a meeting with Bella in a few hours but it was looking as if that wouldn't happen now so before he left the room, he sat on the bed, picked up the receiver on the telephone in his room and dialed her number. Her voice mail quickly picked up and he left a quick message, apologizing for needing to cancel the meeting but promising to call back with a new time to meet.

Meeting Edward by the door, he slipped the coat on an together they made their way to the garage to get one of Jay's cars. Jay knew someone who might be able to help with their search so he started off towards there completely forgetting about the traffic buildup usually around this time.

"Shit, I forgot about this. Sorry man, we'll get off on the next street and take a different way." he told E, who was staring straight ahead, knee bouncing rapidly, shaking the car slightly.

Jay's cell phone suddenly rang from the center console as the traffic started to move forward so he asked E to grab it for him while he maneuvered the car around some cars that seemed to be at a stand still.

As Edward picked the phone up and brought it up to press the green button, his heart stopped as he saw beauty's face staring back at him. Beauty had a name, and it was Bella.

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><p>Bella had never known she could move so fast. One look at the expression on her stranger's face and she knew she had to get out of there. She buckled Masen in his seat quicker than ever, threw her bags on the floor of the car in front of him and got into the driver's seat. Glancing briefly to make sure the coast was clear, she pushed the gas pedal down and booked out of there.<p>

She parked in front of her building, getting a sleeping Masen out of his seat and left the groceries in the car as she walked up to her apartment. After laying him down in his crib, she shut the door to his room and walked into the living room, plopping down as she felt the tears start to flow from her eyes.

What had she done? For the second time she had run away from him and while the first time had been out of necessity, this time had been out of fear. The way he looked at her and at Masen had made her react. He looked livid.

She didn't know how long she had stayed in the same position, eyes staring out at nothing at all as she pictured the glare she had gotten from him, but the sound of a knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts and as if on auto pilot, she walked to the door, pulling it open.

"Bella, dear. Are you all right?" Mrs. Cope, Bella's neighbor stood on the other side of the door. "I've been waiting for Masen since you said you had a meeting today.." she trailed off and Bella silently cursed herself for forgetting about it.

"Yes, sorry Mrs. Cope, I completely forgot. Masen's in his room taking a nap. I'm just going to go get ready." she said, leaving the kind older woman in the living room as she grabbed her purse, and made her way into her bedroom. Tossing the purse on the bed, she heard the beep of her cell phone, signaling a voice mail and got it out of he bag, placing it up to her ear and listening to the sole message left on there from Jacob. He needed to reschedule. Bella stared down at her phone and after a moment, pulled up her contacts and called Jacob, wanting to confirm that he actually did want to cancel the meeting and make sure that everything was all right with him.

But the phone rang, and rang before his voice mail picked up. Bella started to worry, knowing that Jacob wasn't one to cancel plans so abruptly, so bringing up his number once again, she pressed the green button and hoped he'd answer.

After the fifth ring, he did.

"Uh, Hey Bella." he said, a nervous edge to his voice.

"Jacob? Is everything all right? I just got your message canceling the meeting.."

she heard rustling on the other end of the phone and whispers before Jacob came back on the line.

"Yea.. uh, actually would it be OK if we just met at your house. There's something important we need to discuss."

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Jacob to sometimes meet her at her place. Although he was her client he was also a good friend and he loved coming over and spending time with Masen so she quickly agreed, and went out to the living room to let Mrs. Cope know that she would be meeting here instead of going out.

"If you still need me to watch him, dear, I'd be happy to do it." Bella thought about it for a second, the edge in Jacob's voice alerted her to the fact that whatever it was he wanted to discuss was most likely very important so she agreed to let her take him, kissing his small head before Mrs. Cope walked out of the apartment and down the hall to hers.

Bella made quick work of changing her clothes into something more comfortable. She sat on the couch, waiting for Jacob as she flipped through the channels on the TV. She had pushed thoughts of her stranger out of her mind for the most part as there was a knock on the door. She shut the TV off, and jumped up from the couch, anxious to hear what was going on with Jacob.

"OK, Do we need wine for this conversation because-" she stopped mid sentence as she swung the door open and instead of seeing Jacob's toothy grin that she was expecting, she saw her stranger, hand locked in his hair as if he'd been pulling on it and eyes red, as if he'd been...

"Can I come in?" he asked, eyes locked on hers. Her heart pounded in her chest but it seemed as if it was in her head the pounding was so loud. Suddenly the air was ten times hotter, her hands were clammy and she felt as if the world was spinning around her. It all got worse as he spoke his next words, which if she hadn't been clinging to the door, would have caused her to tumble to her knees.

"Please... Bella."

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><p><strong>xoxo<strong>


	15. Chapter 14

Bella had no idea how long she stood there staring into the face of her stranger. His red rimmed eyes pleading with her to let him in and as she finally broke out of her daze.

"I... uhm.. how did you know my name?" she asked, stepping away from the door and motioning for him to come in. he rested his hand on the back of his neck, taking a few cautious steps forward as he made his way inside.

"Jacob." he says quickly as he takes a seat on her sofa. Bella makes her way over to him, opting to sit in the chaise across from where her stranger is currently sitting.

"How do you know Jacob-"

"Is he mine-" they both start, quieting quickly as they realize they've both asked their question at the same time. In normal circumstances, you would laugh in this situation, but as Bella looked up at him, she could tell there was no hint of amusement in his face.

"Please just answer me this. Is he mine?" His eyes began to water as he stared into hers and she soon felt the prickle as tears soon flowed down her face as well. Unable to hold his stare, she brought her eyes down to her lap and slowly nodded.

After a few seconds with no response, Bella chanced a look up to her stranger and found him dragging his hands through his hair once more as the tears dripped down his face and onto the light fabric of his jeans. She didn't know what to say as she watched his form shake suddenly with quiet sobs as he brought his hands to wipe under his eyes.

"I... I'm..."

"Why did you do this?" He asked suddenly, his eyes snapping to hers and his face beginning to redden more than it already had been from his crying.

"What?"

"Leave. Why did you leave that morning?" he says, his voice suddenly very short and cutting as she feels his anger starting to build.

"I was afraid-"

"Afraid? You were afraid?" He yells, jumping off of the couch and pacing in front of her. "Don't you see what you've done!" he yells again, causing Bella to flinch and cower back against the back of he chaise.

As more tears trail down her face, he continues, "For almost two years I spent every day thinking of you, of what we had shared in those few moments we shared together. I had never felt the way you made me feel and I found myself making plans, wanting to get to know you better beyond that night and seeing how it could work, but then you leave. You just go, leaving me nothing but a fucking letter. A letter?"

He takes his seat on the couch once more after seeing her reaction to his outburst. Bringing his thumb and forefinger up to his head and gently massaging his temples, he lowers his voice and continues to talk.

"I tried everything to find you but with no personal information, it was impossible. I tried to move on and just as I thought I might be able to, I look up and see a baby with all my features in front of me and I see you. And you run off again..."

When it feels as if he's finished talking, Bella sniffles, wiping under her eyes and nose as she stares at him.

"I'm sorry. I know now that I shouldn't have left, but I was in a difficult situation." his eyes stay on the ground as he continues making circular motions on the side of his head. "I had just met you and we clicked so well... but I had some things at home to take care of." At this, he lifts his head, eyes blazing on hers.

"You think you're the only one that had things to take care of at home? We could have done it, we could have-"

"I was married."

Her statement silences him and after she's sure his outbursts are done for the moment, she continues to speak.

"It wasn't working and hadn't been for a long time. He was supposed to meet me that weekend but then decided he couldn't come at the last minute. I was angry. So I went out that night and-"

"You decided to pick up some random from the bar and fuck him to make your husband angry?" he says, disbelief and disgust oozing from his voice.

"In a way, yes. But then I met you, and it was different. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. You and I, we just... I don't even know how to explain it." She says, looking at him. How could she explain what it was that she felt for her stranger. Just then she realized that she was still calling him her stranger while he was using her name.

"I'm sorry to change the subject here, but what's your name?" At this a small smile appears on his lips.

"Edward. Edward Cullen." Not was she was expecting at all, but she held her hand up anyway for an introduction the should have had long ago.

"Bella Smi- um Swan. Bella Swan."

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><p>After their introductions, Bella got up and got drinks for the both of them. As she stood in front of the coffee pot, Edward made his way around the apartment, looking at all the pictures along the wall. A lot were of Bella and he guessed were friends and a couple with her and Jacob. Then he came to the ones that made his heart ache.<p>

Pictures of his son.

He looked over them, photos ranging from Bella sitting in a hospital bed holding his tiny form in her arms as she showed a teary smile to the camera. There was another with him sleeping in a bassinet while she looked adoringly down at him. There were a few more random shots of him and then he came to what looked to be the most recent. It was him, wild hair, green eyes as he gripped onto the side of the couch. His face was beaming as he balanced on his tiny legs, and Edward found himself beaming right along with him.

"He fell a few seconds after I took that picture." Bella says, standing beside him and handing him a mug of coffee. "He cried for maybe three seconds before stopping, and pulling himself up again."

Edward kept the smile on his face as he brought the cup up and took a sip.

"what's his name?"

"Masen."

"Masen." Edward said, seeing how the name sounded coming from his mouth. His son's name. "I like it." he said smiling at her. "Can I meet him?" he asks, and Bella's face brightens for a second before looking over to the clock on the wall and seeing the time.

"It's after seven. He should be sleeping right now." Edward is about to say it doesn't matter, but when she says the time, his heart drops.

"It's after seven?" It had been hours that Tanya had sent him to the store. "Shit, I need to go." She nods her head in understanding as she follows him to the door. He stops with his hand on the handle and turns to look at her.

"Tomorrow. What are you guys doing tomorrow?" he asks.

"Um, it's Sunday. Usually we just hang out here or go around the corner to the park and feed the ducks." He smiles at that.

"Would it be okay if I joined you guys?"

"Of course." she nodded, trying hard to hold back the tears as she thought of Masen finally having time with his father. She thought it would never happen.

"Great. I'll stop by tomorrow afternoon. Goodbye Bella." he said, gripping the handle and turning it. Bella watched as he made his way out onto the hall and over to the elevators. He pressed the button and turned to look at her as the bell dinged and the doors opened. He waved before stepping in and as the door closed, Bella finally let the tears fall.

"See you soon, Edward."


	16. Chapter 15

Edward took a deep breath as he made his way to the door of his hotel room. It had been hours since he had left for what should have been a half hour trip. He stuck the key card in the slot and slowly pushed the door open. Tanya was waiting in the sitting room, arms crossed in front of her and a look of irritation on her face.

"Where did you go, Edward? To an Italian vineyard to squish the damn grapes for the wine yourself?"

"Sorry, Tanya... something came up."

Edward knew he should tell her what had happened, but he just couldn't find it in him to share something like this with her. Not at this time, anyway.

"Something that was more important that what I needed you to do for me?"

"Tanya, I-"

"Do you even want this, Edward? Do you even want to marry me?" She asked, and the inside of him was screaming NO! He didn't want this. He didn't want it before and he especially didn't want it now that he had seen his beauty and knew that she had his child... but he couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking.

"Yes, I'm sorry. It's just... I just lost track of time. I'm sorry." He said, and held out the bag he had gotten at the last minute that held the wine and aspirin she had asked of him. She stood up, snatching the bag without a word as she walked past him and into the bedroom, shutting the door.

"I guess I'll just sleep out here tonight." he said to himself as he sat on the couch, leaning against the cushions. This happened whenever they argued. He'd have to make his bed on the couch while Tanya slept in their room, locking the door behind her and ignoring him if he tried to say a word to her. It bothered him before, made him mad even, but tonight was different.

He didn't feel like laying next to her tonight.

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><p>Bella stared at the clock on the wall watching as the second hand ticked over and over again, with each tick the time coming nearer to when she would see Edward again. Their meeting had gone well, even more so than she had thought possible and she was looking forward to Masen meeting his father. She looked up then at her son as he sat in his highchair, picking fruit off his plate and shoving it in his mouth. He would meet his father today... the thought alone brought tears to her eyes.<p>

When he finished his breakfast, she gave him a sippy of milk and carried him into the living room. It was 10:30 in the morning when there was a knock on their door. She quickly scooped Masen up and made her way to the door, expecting Mrs. Cope or one of her other neighbors to be on the other side since Edward wasn't expected yet, but as she pulled the door open she saw him standing there, looking just as beautiful as he had every time she had seen him before.

"Hi." he said. His eyes were on her for a moment before they traveled down to the face of the little boy in her arms. As if he knew who he was, Masen beamed up at Edward, and held his arms out for him- something he had never done with anyone before- and as Edward held his own arms out, grabbing the baby from her arms, she felt as if her world was becoming complete.

This was a family. Her family.

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><p>The day they spent together couldn't have been any better. They fed the ducks together at the park. The strolled down the streets with Masen perched on Edward's shoulders, screeching with delight as he pulled on his father's hair. They ate lunch at the diner down the street and Bella cooked dinner for them all at home. She watched from the doorway as Edward bathed their son, every so often turning his head to ask if he was doing it right or if he was using enough soap. Then, she watched as Edward held Masen in his lap, rocking him gently in the rocking chair in his room as he softly sang a quiet lullaby and Masen drifted off to sleep.<p>

Edward looked up at her then, smiled plastered on his face as he motioned with his head for her to grab him. She walked over, scooping Masen up in her arms and placed him gently in his crib. She looked down at her son and brushed the hair out of his peaceful face as she felt Edward come up behind her. He peered into the crib an after a moment, Bella nudged him with her elbow and brought her finger up to her lips and slowly backed out of the room.

She closed the door to his room when Edward finally came out and smiled at him as his eyes stayed locked on the door.

"It's amazing how natural it comes." he says, taking his eyes off the door and locking eyes with her.

"What?" she asks

"Love. I've just met him and I love him so much."

Bella loses her hold on her emotions then, tears begin to fall down her face and before she can bring her hand up to wipe them away, she feels Edward's take their place under her eyes as he gently dries the wet trails.

"You okay?" he asks

"Yes... just happy."

As their eyes stay locked, Bella can't help but slowly inch towards him. Everything they had shared today was great, everything she had ever dreamed being a family would feel like and she had missed Edward. Her stranger. She closes her eyes, readying herself with the shock that's sure to come when their lips connect, but instead of feeling the warm softness against her, she feels Edward grip the tops of her arms, holding her back.

"Bella, I-" He starts, then pauses, unsure of how to say what he needs to.

"It's okay, Edward. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed..." she says, pulling herself from his grip and making her way to the living room. Cursing himself, he brings his forefinger and thumb up to the bridge of his nose, pinching slightly as he tried to ease the ache there. He wanted this, her, but knew it wouldn't be right to lead her on. To lead any of them on. He had to say something.

He pushed off the door then, walking to meet Bella in the living room only to find her waiting by the front door, his sweater in hand and he knows he's messed this up.

"I'm sorry to kick you out like this, Edward, but I'm really exhausted and I have work tomorrow so it would be easier if you just left now." she says, glancing up at him once and then dropping her eyes to the sweater in her hands.

"Sure. No problem, Bella." he says, walking over to her and collecting his things. He slides the sweater on and stands in front of her, waiting for her to look up, but she doesn't.

"Um. I'll call you tomorrow and make plans to see Masen this weekend when I come back up here." He says. He has to go over to Jacob's to collect his things. He had told Tanya he needed to go back home to work early so he could spend the day with Bella and his son, and now he needed to make sure he made it home before she did. He was dreading having to work this whole week and hated that as close as he had gotten to Masen today, it would be five days before he saw him again.

"OK. Bye, Edward." Bella says, opening the door for him to step through. He stalls in the doorway, looking back at her for a moment before lowly saying goodbye and continuing down the hallway. Bella closes the door, angry at herself for doing what she just did, causing herself to look like a fool. She's about to walk into her room to try and shower and wash the embarrassment off when there's a soft knock at the door. She huffs in frustration, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink at the thought of having to come face to face with him once again, and opens the door.

"Did you forget some-"

without warning, Edward storms into the apartment, gripping her face in his hand and very quickly brings his mouth down on hers.

And all too quickly, her embarrassment is replaced with something else. Some thing raw, something passionate, something that she really can't name, but knows without a doubt that she wants more of.

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><p><strong>Apologies if this looks kind of wonky. I'm having issues with this edit screen on my comp and I just needed to get this out. Thanks for reading. xoxo<strong>


	17. Chapter 16

**Sorry it took so long to get this up here, but the last two weeks have been crazy with two kids with the stomach virus and my little one with an ear infection. Now that all kids are better and my house no longer smells of shit and vomit, I'm back. Since it's been so long, there will be another update on Friday... **

**Enjoy  
><strong>

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><p>Bella's hands quickly find their way into his hair, pulling, pushing, kneading, as she brings her body flush against his. She wants to get closer, needs to feels closer, but with every inch of their upper bodies touching, it still doesn't feel as if it's enough.<p>

She moans into his mouth, as if to signal her needs to him, but it seems to wake him up out of his daze and his pulls back, their lips making a snapping sound as he releases his hold on them.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't leave it like that.." he says, looking down at his feet before bringing his eyes to hers. She stands there, still in her lust filled haze and nods her head, unable to speak.

"I, uh... I guess I'll call you during the week and make plans to come out next weekend to see Masen." he says and again she nods as he moves to grab the knob again.

"I'll talk to you soon, Bella." he says, before the door is opened and he disappears through it. Bella stares at the closed door and brings her hands up to her lips which seems to be tingling, no doubt a result from his kiss. She wanted to question what had just happened, to think of how strange the scene had just been but all she could think of was the tingling on her mouth and the burning she felt inside for the man who had left her standing in the foyer of her apartment.

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><p>The following morning, Bella found herself at her desk scrolling through her phone as a long list of calls she had to return went undone and an in box full of emails she had to reply to went unnoticed. Instead, she scrolled through the pictures from yesterday, smiling to herself as she saw picture after picture of Edward's and Masen's smiling faces. To anyone else, these pictures would just look to be of a father and son having fun, enjoying themselves, but to Bella they were a promise to a family she had never thought would be.<p>

So lost was she in the photos, that when the intercom buzzed on her desk she jump in fright dropping her phone to the desk as her heat rate picked up. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she pushed the button on the intercom and spoke into it.

"Yes, Jade?"

"Bella? Mr. Black is here to see you. Should I send him in?" Jade, Bella's assistant answered.

"Yes. Thanks Jade." She said, and then removed her hand from the button, and sat back in her chair. With all the craziness that had happened this weekend, she hadn't thought to call Jacob. She immediately felt like the scum of the earth... all of this had happened thanks to him. So when the door knob turned and he entered, Bella found herself jumping out of her chair and rushing towards him just as he came into sight. She threw herself into his arms as the door clicked shut behind them and she let out a sob as tears began to fall.

"Shhh. It's okay, Bella." Jacob said gently, rubbing his hand up and down her back. He let her cry into his shirt, not once caring that his favorite shirt would most likely be ruined by her makeup. He held her for what seemed like forever before her sobs quieted and she lifted her face.

She stared quietly at Jacob, the man who had become such a good friend is such a short amount of time and had single handedly brought her son's father back to them.

"Jacob... Thank you so much." she said, and he shook his head, gazing down at her tear soaked cheeks and bloodshot eyes. He brought his hands up to her face and ever so gently wiped the wetness from under her eyes.

"I didn't know, Bella. If I would have known, I could have brought you together sooner."

"How could you have known, Jake? I didn't want to tell anyone what had happened. The only people who knew were Rosalie and Angela... I couldn't bring myself to tell you in fear that you would think less of me."

"Think less of you?" he repeated her words in disbelief. "Why would I do that? Bella, from what Edward told me, it was instant between you two. And regardless of how it happened, you guys have Masen out of it and he's an amazing kid, Bella. I just kick myself for not putting two and two together and figuring this out on my own."

Bella sniffled and brought her arms around Jacob once more.

"I will never be able to thank you enough, Jacob. You have no idea how much this means to me." she whispered softly into his chest. Jacob gripped her tighter, his eyes stopping on her desk where her phone lay, lit up with a picture of Masen and Edward together on its screen.

"I think I know, Bella."

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><p>The week dragged on for Edward. At work it seemed as if minutes took hours to pass and hours took days, but as soon as his shift at the hospital was over, he'd take his phone out and call Bella. He'd sit in his car in the parking lot of the hospital and they'd talk about each other's day and he'd smile when she spoke of something Masen had done, or what he'd eaten- hell, he'd smile at anything that came out of Bella's mouth. Finding her again had been the best thing to have happened to him in a long time.<p>

But every night when he said goodnight, and hung the phone up, he felt the weight on his shoulders increase as the secret he was keeping from her hung in his mind. He had to tell her, that he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to do it over the phone.

By Friday, when he hung up with her, he made plans to spend the weekend with her and Masen and planned to tell her then. With a story in place for Tanya, Edward made his way out of his car and up the walkway to the house, opened the door and made his way inside. There in the living room, Tanya and Julie poured over the binder of wedding stuff that Edward couldn't care less about anymore. The both looked up as he stepped into the room and Tanya smiled, lifting herself off the couch and made her way over to him.

"Hi, baby. Glad you're here- Julie and I were just going over the centerpieces that she had picked and she wanted to see if we could go tomorrow to check them out in Hartford."

Connecticut, he thought to himself. She would be in Connecticut tomorrow.

"I wish I could, Tan, but I actually got picked last minute to head over to Chicago for a conference." Her face, which had been beaming with excitement before, dropped and he watched as the anger poured through her.

"Chicago? Edward, you haven't helped with one thing at all this week. Our wedding is in less than three months-"

"And you and Julie are doing just fine without me. I'm not going to argue with you about this, Tanya, this is my job." he said, keeping up with the lie. "I gotta go pack. I leave tomorrow morning and come back Sunday night so we'll discuss anything that needs discussing then..." he said, and turned away, ignoring her shouts of obscenities as he made his way into the bedroom, grabbed the suitcase, and got to packing for the trip to see his family.

"My family", he said softly to himself. "I like the sound of that."

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><p><strong>See you guys Friday, and a little warning, next chapter is intense. Both in a good way and a bad way... ;)<strong>

**See you then!  
><strong>

**-Ana xoxo  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**Twice the length of a regular chapter since I missed last week. See you at the bottom! :)**

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><p>After another night of sleeping on the couch after pissing Tanya off, Edward got up bright and early, hours before the sun peaked up over the horizon, and set off for New York to see Bella and Masen.<p>

Three hours later, he stood outside of her apartment building, trying to decide if he should go up and see them now, or if he should check into a hotel first. He didn't want to assume that Bella would make room for him there, but he was anxious to get to spending time with them both. Before he had even made his decision, his feet carried him through the doors and through the lobby to the elevator.

Less than a minute later, he stood in front of her door, lifting his fist and rapping on the door twice. As if she had been as anxious as he was, Bella answered the door a mere seconds later, eyes bright and smile beaming.

"Hi."

"Hi. I hope you don't mind me getting here so early, I just-"

"Edward, it's fine. We've been waiting for you." she said, stepping out of the way for him to walk through the door. There sitting in the middle of the floor was Masen and as his little head turned towards the door, his eyes landed on Edward and he immediately smiled, scrunching his little nose up and kicking his legs in excitement. Edward couldn't wait any longer.

He dropped his bag on the floor in the foyer and quickly made his way over to his son, lifting him up in his arms and kissing the top of his little head.

"I missed you so much, Mase."

The week away had been too long to go without seeing him, Edward thought. He didn't think he could ever last that long again.

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><p>"Edward! Seriously, you really don't have to do this!" Bella said, shaking her head as they both stood in the middle of F.A.O Schwartz. Edward stood in front of a miniature Lamborghini Murcielago that he insisted on getting for Masen, who was screeching loudly from where Edward held him tightly in his arms.<p>

"Bella, I would have killed for one of these when I was little. I have no problem getting this for him." he said, turning to look back at her. She stood there, hands crossed over her chest with a small smile on her face as she shook her head no.

"He can't even drive it yet! Edward, honestly..."

"Let me do this, Bella. Please." his eyes pleaded with her, and in them she saw what he was silently saying. He had missed so much time with him that he wanted to make up for it. She didn't have the heart to tell him right then that it all didn't matter anymore- he had him now, so instead, she nodded her head and laughed when Edward let out a loud "Yes!" and asked the sales person to bring it to the front.

They walked out the store that day not only with the car, but with a couple of plush animals, a doctor's kit (so that Masen could be like his father) and a set of stacking blocks. They all spent the rest of the afternoon playing and by the time dinner time came around, Bella's sides hurt from laughing so much. Seeing Edward and Masen interact with one another was something to be seen and the smile hadn't left her face once.

Dinner came and went, with more laughs as Masen covered himself and Edward with food, then decided he actually wanted it and tried to spoon off the food from his own shirt as well as Edward's. Bath and bed time seemed to be easier this time for Edward, only asking for Bella help once and doing everything else on his own. By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Bella had finished cleaning up the dishes and made her way into the living room to relax a bit. Edward came out of Masen's room then, tiptoeing outside and ever so slowly inching the door closed.

"Do you need any help with the dishes?" he asked as he walked towards her.

"No, I actually just finished not too long ago. Thank you, though."

"Oh, Okay." He said, standing awkwardly next to the couch. They said nothing else for a few minutes, then his eyes set on the clock near the TV.

"I should actually get going."

"Really? You don't have to..."

"Yea, I haven't checked into a hotel yet and it's getting late..."

"Hotel?" Bella asked, eyebrows pulled close together in confusion, "Edward, you don't have to go to a hotel. I have a spare room here and you're more than welcome to stay in there."

He didn't want to intrude, but with Bella in front of him, offering the space for him, a space where he could be closer to both her and their son, how could he refuse.

"Sure. Thanks, Bella." He said as she stood up to show him the room. He grabbed his bag from the foyer, and met her in the hallway where she opened a door on the other side, separated from both her room and Masen's. She opened the door and flicked on the light, bathing the aqua colored room in a soft white light.

"Wow. This is nice." he said, setting his bag down just inside the door. It was nice. Aqua on the walls and as an accent color in black in white photos lined along the far wall, as well as a single ruffle pillow in the center of the large white bed.

"Thanks. Make yourself at home. Extra towels are in the hall closet right outside the door, just leave them in the hamper in the bathroom when you're done. I'll be in my room, but if you need anything, let me know." she smiled, and then walked out of the room, leaving Edward to settle in.

Finally alone, Edward realized just how tired he was. He took a shower, washing the long day away and settled into bed just after ten o'clock and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Edward found himself awake the following morning just before sunrise. It wasn't unusual for him to be up this early, especially because of his field of work, so he went about his normal routine making sure to keep extra quiet so as not to wake Bella and Masen. He tugged on a pair of jeans and a shirt and walked out of his bedroom, towards the kitchen, where he was surprised to find Bella standing.<p>

"Morning. I didn't think you would be up yet." He said as he took a seat at the breakfast bar. Bella turned, milk in hand and smiled, whispering a good morning to him and asking if he wanted any coffee. Minutes later they sat on the couch, mugs in hand as she flicked on the news.

"If I want any time to just sit and relax and actually catch up on what's going on in the world, I need to be up this early." she said with a chuckle. Edward found himself smiling at her confession and setting his mug down on the coffee table he leaned back against the cushions and watched her. Her profile was illuminated by the glow of the television in the dark room and he couldn't help but remember how she looked that night, illuminated by the lights of the city and flashes of lightening that would brighten the room occasionally.

He remembered everything from that night as he had kept the memory and conjured it up numerous times. Her face, contorted in pleasure as they explored one another, her sighs and groans of approval when he reached the right spot, her limbs glistening with sweat as they worked each other well into the night.

Bella looked up at him then, seeing the look her had in his eyes, a look that shot straight through her. She felt the heat in his stare and she swallowed thickly.

"Edward?" she whispered, and he was against her in an instant. He brought his lips to hers, bringing his hands up to her hair and digging in, pulling her closer. She felt the need in this kiss and returned it full force. She had had to live without this man for too long, and she wanted a reminder of why she fell as hard as she did that night. Their lips tangled, their hands roamed and after a few minutes, it wasn't enough.

Edward pulled away, releasing her lips with a loud smack and fighting hard to catch his breath. His chest rose and fell quickly as her watched her, but Bella wasn't finished with him. She was back against him in a flash, capturing his lips with hers once again. His hands went to her waist, pushing and pulling before gripping her in his hands and pulling her to his lap. Wanting this to go further, Bella reached in front of her, pulling at the ties of her robe and shrugging it off, leaving herself in nothing but her tank top and lace boy shorts she had slept in. Edward grunted in approval and let his hands roam down her back and further, to the curve of her ass.

Then the realization of what he was doing got to him. He couldn't do this with Bella without telling her about Tanya first. He stopped kissing her then, moving his hands to her hips and pulling her back from him softly.

"Bella... before we do this, there's something you should know..." he started but Bella didn't want to stop. She darted forward capturing his lips once again, mumbling"Not now" against him as she slowly started to grind herself on his now rock solid erection. He gave up his fight, lifting his hips to meet hers, enjoying the pleasure the friction was bringing them.

Suddenly, the sound of Masen's cries echoed throughout the apartment, sending Bella flying off of Edward and grabbing her robe from the floor. She looked down at him, whispering an 'I'm sorry" and walked off towards the baby's room leaving Edward to catch his breath and take care of the bulge in front of his pants.

* * *

><p>After a quick session in the shower, Edward had come out and found both Masen and Bella ready for the day. They had eaten breakfast and then played for hours in the living room. Around lunchtime they decided to go out to eat, stopping at a diner not too far from Bella's apartment.<p>

Edward wanted to be upset about how things had left off this morning but he couldn't help but think that maybe it was fate stopping them from doing something they shouldn't be. He was engaged to Tanya; their wedding was in less than three months and he had to decide what he wanted.

They finished their meal and stopped by the park on their way home. Edward enjoyed the sounds of Masen's laughter as he pushed him on the swings and found himself laughing as well as Bella. His wild hair blew back as he soared forward through the air and he kicked his legs and squealed in excitement as Edward pushed him higher and higher.

"Not too high, Edward!" Bella yelled, her worried voice laced with amusement.

"Edward?" he heard a familiar voice say. He stopped pushing and looked past Bella towards the sidewalk where he locked eyed with Tanya who was staring at him in confusion. Edward gripped onto the swing Masen was in, stopping it as he looked on in panic as Tanya made her way over to him.

"What are you do-" she started, then looked down, getting a good look at Masen, before looking back up at him. "Edward... is this..."

"Tanya, I can explain." he said, but there was no need. Tanya knew just by looking at them both who the kid in the swing belonged to. She locked eyes with him, slowly shaking her head as tears pooled in her eyes. After another second, she was gone. Bella, who had taken notice of the whole scene in front of her walked over to to Edward.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"That was Tanya." he said, running his hands through his hair in frustration as he looked towards where she had run off. Bringing his eyes back to Bella, he took a deep breath and spoke once more.

"That was my fiance."

Bella reared back as if she had been slapped, truly shocked by what he had just told her and Edward, seeing how it had affected her, started to plead with her.

"I can explain, Bella. Please, just-" his words stopped suddenly as Bella's hand connected with his face in a slap so hard, his head whipped to the side.

"You disgust me." she said before grabbing Masen from the swing and walking off. Edward stared after her as he rubbed his hand against his cheek, watching her turn towards her apartment.

The pain he felt in his chest was crippling, but it was all his doing. He should have been honest, should have done everything differently, but now everything was in shambles and it was up to him to make it right.

And as he took off down the sidewalk, the same direction she had, he hoped it wasn't too late.

* * *

><p><strong>Who do you think he went after? Hmmm, I guess we'll see next week.<strong>

**I got a question earlier about how long I plan this to be. Right now, I'm thinking it will be around 25-30 chapters but that could change.  
><strong>

**Thank you all for your reviews and favorite story/story alerts! I'm happy people are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it.  
><strong>

**See you next week!  
><strong>

**Ana xoxo  
><strong>


	19. Chapter 18

Bella walked as fast as she could back to her apartment building. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her breathing was ragged and her stomach felt like it had sunk into her feet.

He was engaged.

Not once had she even thought to ask him about his relationship status, but that was something he should have at least admitted himself. Especially after what happened this morning.

She almost had sex with him this morning... all while he had his fiance at home waiting for him. It made her sick, but most of all, it made her angry. Bella reaches her building, greeting the door man quickly and taking the elevator to her floor. Once in her apartment, she sets Mason down on the floor and quickly grabs Edward's bag from her guest room.

She knew what she had to do, she just hoped it was the right thing.

* * *

><p>Her building came into view as Edward turned the corner, huffing and puffing from running all the way there from the park. He had to explain to her, tell her everything, and hope she forgave him.<p>

Before he could walk through the door, the doorman stops him.

"Mr. Cullen? Miss Swan asked me to give you these." the man said, holding up Edward's bag in one hand and a folded piece of paper in the other. She didn't want to see him... but he wasn't giving her the choice. He grabs both things from the man, and starts to walk towards the elevators, but is stopped once again.

"Miss Swan isn't here, Sir. She left not too long ago" Edward didn't believe the man in front of him, but to keep from causing a scene he turned, walking back out of the building and taking a seat on the bench a few feet away from the entrance. Placing his bag on the floor, he unfolds the paper in his hand and begins to read.

_Edward-_

_I will contact you during the week to discuss visitation for you and Masen. _

_-Isabella_

And just like that, Edward's life is once again shattered by a letter.

* * *

><p>Edward makes his way to the parking garage where he's left his car when suddenly his phone rings from his pocket. Dropping his bag to the ground, he reaches in, hoping to see her name flashing on his screen but it's not her.<p>

**Tanya**

He picks it up, ready to hear her cancel the wedding, ready to hear her call him all the names in the book... but what she says surprises him.

"Can you meet me so we can talk?"

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, he knocks on the door of her hotel room. She answers quickly and he can tell that she's been crying. She points to the couch for him to take a seat and she joins him, sitting across from him in the hotel living room.<p>

"He's yours, isn't he?" she asks, and Edward nods as fresh tears begin to fall down her face. In that moment, he forgets all about 'Tanya the bitch', who he's been dealing with these past couple of months. He thinks about the Tanya that befriended him when he felt like his world was meaningless. How she crept into his life, little by little, and got him to feel something once again. The Tanya who took him in, broken as he was, and fixed him as much as she could.

"I didn't cheat on you, Tan. It was before..." he starts and she nods. It's quiet for a while after that, both of them trying to decide the next move.

"How did it happen?" she asks and Edward tells her the story of Bella. She listens to the story from the beginning and he leaves it off to last week when he found her, discovering that she had his son.

"That's why you were the way you were when we met." she states, not questioning but he nods anyway. She thinks for a moment, before finally coming to a decision.

"Edward, I love you. I'm not going to pretend that I know what it's like to have something like this sprung on you, but I want you to know that I'm here. I want nothing more than to marry you in two months but I'm going to leave that up to you. Just know that even if you choose me, you can still have your son. I'll welcome him with open arms and treat him like my own. You don't have to sacrifice a relationship with him, or his mother, for me."

The hurt in her eyes is debilitating and he knows he can't do this to her. She was there for him in his darkest moments, and he did love her for that. He stands to leave, ready to think everything over and as she opens the door for him, she grips onto his arms, kissing his lips softly.

"You can call me and let me know what you want to do whenever you're ready. I'll be waiting." he nods his head, and steps out into the hallway, already knowing what he was going to do.

* * *

><p>Tanya shut the door, turning the lock and walking back towards the living room. She couldn't believe the performance she had just given. It was definitely Oscar worthy.<p>

She had put way too much into this, and she's be damned if it was ruined because of some mistake he made when his hormones were raging. She knew once she saw him in the hospital a year ago what he could give her. Money, respect, security were all promised with a man like him, and she was going to be sure to hang onto it.

He wasn't going anywhere without a fight.

* * *

><p><strong>A little short, but the next chapter is halfway done so it should be up tomorrow or Sunday. Or sooner... <strong>

**xxoo Ana  
><strong>


	20. Chapter 19

Bella didn't know who to call. Rose and Angela were back home and her assistant was on vacation and Bella wouldn't feel right bothering her with her problems. At times like these she would call upon Jacob, but even he was out of town. So her and Masen found themselves walking around aimlessly, trying to kill time before going back to her apartment where she was sure Edward was.

Masen begins to fuss in her arms and she looks down, seeing him rub his tired eyes. She had no choice but to go home. She turns to go back towards her building and when she lifts her eyes from her son's face, they meet his. His smile is just as dazzling as she remembered it to be and she finds her mouth tugging at the corners, her smile mimicking his.

"Bella Smith. It's been too long." he says once he's reached her.

"Hello, Riley. It has been too long. Long enough that I'm no longer Bella Smith. It's Bella _Swan_ now." she says and the spark that ignites in him is enough to light the whole town.

Riley Jax had been the son of one of Bella's first clients. Back then, he was an 20 year old, scrawny punk living off his Mommy and Daddy's fortune and running amok throughout the city. The years had changed him. In amazing ways.

"Is that so?" she nods in return and he shifts his focus to the baby in her arms. "and who is this little guy?"

"This is my son Masen." It surprises him that Bella has a son and is divorced. Not to mention that the child looks nothing like Bella nor the man she had been married to before. So much has changed for her, but he knows better than to question her. She was a very private person when it came to her personal life.

"Hi Masen. Where are you two headed?"

"Masen is getting a little sleepy. It's passed his nap time, so I was just walking back towards my apartment."

"You live in the city now?" He asks and she nods, telling him the area where her apartment is. "That's kind of far. Would you like a ride there? My driver is right there, I'd be more than happy to have him take you home."

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Riley."

"You're not, I'm asking. Please." he says, holding out his hand. Bella looks back towards where her building is, knowing that it's at least a 30 minute walk, then looks to Riley and nods her head.

"Sure. Thank you."

* * *

><p>Edward wandered the city for hours after leaving Tanya's hotel room. He knew what he had to do but he had to speak to Bella. He had to see if there was a chance for them. Just as the sun started to set, he found himself outside her building where he promptly took a seat on the bench and waited. His calls to her had gone unanswered and the doorman wouldn't let him up to her apartment so this was the only way.<p>

Elbows on his knees, head in his hands, he waited. The slamming of a car door captured his attention and he jerked his head up at the sound, looking over at the sleek, expensive car that had just pulled up. The driver stood at the back door, opening it wide and thinking it was just another hot shot on his way up to his penthouse apartment, Edward almost looked away, but then he caught the flash of bronze hair.

Bella got out, Masen in her arms and then leaned back in through the opened door. Anger coursed through him as he watched her lips attach to the mystery man's cheek before pulling back. She smiled at them as the driver tipped his hat, and closed the door shut. Edward stood in the shadows, watching the car slowly pull away and Bella waving goodbye and once it was out of sight and Bella started walking towards the door, he walked into view.

"Edward!" Bella jumped, "What are you doing? You scared the hell out of me!"

"Who the fuck was that, Bella?" he found himself seething at her.

"Who do you think _you _are to be talking to me like that?" she asked, eyes narrowed as her heart began to beat harder and faster in her chest. She couldn't believe the nerve of this man.

"Who am I? I'm the father of your child, Bella, and I asked you a question. Who. The. Fuck. Was. That?"

Bella huffs, then pushes past him and walks up to the door. "You're the father of my child, Edward. You're not my father, my mother or my _fiance_. You have one of those already, remember?" She says, stinging him with the reality of their situation, then walks into the lobby. He follows her, grabbing her arm and turning her towards him.

"Bella, I... I'm sorry, it's just..."

"What, Edward? What do you want from me?" she says, eyes beginning to gloss over from tears.

"I want Masen. I want... I want to know that there's a chance. For us." his eyes plead, but hers blaze.

"I will never keep you from Masen ever again, Edward. He needs his father and I will never keep him from having one. But you're engaged. The look on her face when she saw us today... I know that feeling and I never want to be the cause of that." she says, tears finally spilling over. "You will still be Masen's father and I want you to be around as much as you want to be... but don't break someone's heart because of me."

She turns to walk away, and this time, Edward lets her go.

* * *

><p>Tanya sits on the couch, wedding planning binder in her lap. It's just after midnight and she's starting to worry that her speech this afternoon didn't work as well as she had planned. Just then, headlights flash across the room from the window and she hears the garage door open, signaling Edward's return. Setting the binder on the coffee table, Tanya rushes off to the bedroom, jumping into bed and pulling out the eye drops from the nightstand and quickly dropping some in her eyes. She hears the door open outside and places the drops back in the drawer and lays back, eyes on the bedroom door.<p>

"Tan. I'm home."

"Edward... I didn't hear you come in." she says, rubbing her eyes to make it seem as if she'd actually been crying and adding a sniffle or two as well to really sell it.

"Have you been crying?" he asks, flicking on the bedroom light.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." she starts, but in an instant he's at her side and his arms are wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry, Tanya. I'm so sorry." he says, reaching his hands up to her face and wiping away the wetness.

"Are you... Are you back for good?" she asks, adding a hiccup in the middle for a little extra oomph, but he goes for it. Nodding his head and leaning down to kiss her forehead, he whispers yes.

Minutes pass with her wrapped in his arms but soon, it's not enough. She pulls back and looks into his eyes.

"Make love to me, Edward." and he does.

But like the many times before, he doesn't see her. He sees brown hair where it should be blonde. He sees porcelain skin where it should be tan.

He sees Bella.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Tanya works in the kitchen with a smile on her face. Normally she didn't do breakfast; usually leaving Edward to buy or make his own meal, but after the night they shared, she figured he deserved something.<p>

They had talked last night after sharing themselves with one another. He had told her what had happened when he saw her after he left the hotel. With the information he gave her, she knew just how to play this so that by her wedding day, that woman and her kid would be out of their lives for good.

"Morning." Edward greets he walks into the kitchen.

"Morning, Handsome." she says, directing him to a seat and leaning over to pour eggs on his plate.

They eat in silence and once he's finished, she takes his plate to the sink. He finishes getting ready and then comes back to her to kiss her goodbye.

"Edward, I was thinking." she says once she realizes he's in the room with her. She stops the water on the sink and turns towards him, smile plastered on her face. "I think I should meet Bella and Masen."

* * *

><p><strong>This story got over 5,000 hits yesterday and 30 or so of you put this on your favorites or on story alert. Thank you!<strong>

**Next chapter should be up on Friday. I'll see you then!  
><strong>

**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	21. Chapter 20

**Forgive me if this chapter seems off. It was originally two chapters but I felt like most of it was just filler and I wanted to get to the good stuff and cut all of the nonsense out.**

* * *

><p>It had been weeks since that day-the day that changed everything. Edward didn't know how he managed to get through the days, but he somehow did. Bella kept her promise, letting him see Masen every weekend since then. The visits had changed drastically though. Where before he had spent all day with both Bella and Masen, touring the city, spending time in her apartment, now he would get a call telling him when to go over. He'd pick Masen up and take him out on his own, while Bella went on and did whatever she had planned for her day. It hurt, but it was how things had to be.<p>

Tanya still asked to meet both Bella and Masen and after weeks of coming up with excuses, it was finally happening. Hand in hand they made their way down the street while Tanya babbled on and on about something having to do with their upcoming wedding. The wedding that was happening two weeks from now. Edward tried to at least appear to be listening but he found himself nervous of what was to come.

"What do you think, Edward?" Tanya asked as they turned into the park they had decided to meet at.

"You're so much better at this stuff than I am, Tan. Whatever you think is good, then I'll have to agree." he said, his go-to answer to pretty much anything these days. She smiled in response, saying something about making a call when they got back to the hotel.

They walk through the large park, passing the large play areas where he had no doubt Masen would be playing in one day when he got older, and go straight to the swing sets where Bella is pushing a giggling Masen. His hair whips around as he moves forward and back and his legs kick in excitement with every push Bella gives and Edward feels his chest tightening a bit as he remembers what it felt like to be here with both of them. Like a family.

Bella's head turns as she hears their approach and she slows the swing down, pulling Masen out and placing him on her hip as she moves towards them.

"Hi." She says and Masen begins to fuss in her arms, probably upset about being out of the swings.

"Hi, Bella. Bella, this is Tanya. Tanya, this is Bella..." Edward says, holding his arms out to Masen who squeals when he realizes he's there and practically jumps out of Bella's arms and into his. "and this is Masen." he says once he's settled him on his hip.

Plastering on a smile, Tanya steps forward, extending her hand to greet Bella and then turning to Masen.

"Hi there. Aren't you handsome. He's the spitting image of you, Edward." she says, extending her arm all the way and patting the top of his head as if he were a feral dog you would want to keep at arms length.

* * *

><p>Afterward at lunch, things begin to loosen up. They all chat, tensely at first, but before long Edward and Bella are laughing and to any outsider, it would seem as if they are the couple while Tanya is the third wheel. Tanya forces a chuckle out every now and then but as soon as Edward excuses himself to take Masen to the bathroom to change him, she feels the need to shake things up a bit.<p>

"So, Bella. I'm not sure if Edward has told you, but our wedding is in two weeks."

"Oh really? Congratulations." Bella says, trying her best to seem genuine but feeling the ache start in her chest. Truth is, Edward had mentioned it a few weeks ago, but the look on his face didn't look like what a husband to be's should look like.

"Yes. It seems like I've been waiting forever for it to come. I'm so excited." Not knowing how to respond, Bella nods and takes a sip of her drink. What Tanya says next however, causes Bella to nearly choke on her water.

"I would love for you to come, Bella."

After catching her breath, Bella looks up at Tanya and while her face shows concern, her eyes tell a different story. As if she can tell that Bella is able to see right through her, Tanya takes it to another level, making Bella see red.

"You know what? We don't have a ring bearer yet. Do you think we could have Masen be the ring bearer? I'm sure Edward would love having him in the wedding."

"He can't walk yet, Tanya." Bella states, trying her hardest to keep from throttling Tanya.

"Oh, I've seen wedding where they pull them in a wagon. We can do something like that... what do you think?"

"I, uh. I don't know. You'll have to see how Edward feels about it..."

"How I feel about what?" Edward asks, as he comes back to the table, setting Masen down in his high chair and looking to both Tanya and Bella for an answer.

"Oh, honey, I just thought it would be nice to invite Bella to the wedding and have Masen be the ring bearer, since we don't have one yet." The thought of Bella at his wedding to another woman is something inconceivable to him, but he doesn't want to be the one who said no.

"If it's okay with Bella, then I'm fine with it."

* * *

><p>That night, after Bella puts a sleeping Masen in his bed, she makes herself a cup of tea and sits on her couch with her laptop on her lap as she skims through her emails and thinks about the days' events.<p>

She couldn't believe she had gotten herself into this but it had seemed like the best thing to do. Edward was the father of her child and he was getting married. It was only logical that she meet his future wife, seeing how she would be around when Masen and Edward had their time together. But after meeting her, Bella didn't want the woman within 5 feet of her son... or Edward. What could she say to him though? She had no right to tell him that the woman he had chosen to spend the rest of his life with was a slimy bitch. After all, she had all but pushed him back to her that night...

The ringing of her cell phone brings her out of her thoughts. She smiles when she picks it up and sees Rose's name on her screen and quickly answers.

"Hey Rose. What's going on?"

"Bella! How did today go?" she asks, which gets a groan in response.

"Well, there's time to talk about that later. You know how we have the new office opening in L.A soon?"

"Yea..." Bella's stomach drops then, because she knows what's coming next.

"I want my best people over there, Bells." Bella closes her eyes, inhaling deeply as she waits for it.

"I want you over there, Bella."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter should be up soon and it's pretty epic. Would you guys like a hint of what's to come? Let me know and I'll send you a little something. ;)<strong>

**xoxo Ana**


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N at the bottom. **

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Bella spent the next week after meeting Tanya in a haze. Too much had been thrust upon her in such a short time that she found herself having trouble dealing with everything. Not only was she thinking about the despicable woman Edward was choosing to spend his life with, she was also thinking about the job offer Rose had given her.<p>

Los Angeles is the place to be in her business. Her client list, while decent now, would most likely double, if not triple as soon as they opened up shop there. It would be a great opportunity to live even better than she was already. It would mean the best schools for Masen, a nice house with a yard he could play in. They could have anything the wanted.

Except for Edward.

Edward's home was on the East coast and moving across country would make it harder for Masen to have the father he needed.

Bella was conflicted.

"Bella? Mr. Black is here to see you." Jade's voice came from the intercom. It wasn't unusual these days for Jacob to stop by like this. In fact, in the past ten days, since meeting Tanya, he had been around six of them. They talked about everything going on and she was surprised to find out that Jacob felt the same way about Tanya as she did.

"Send him in, Jade." She said, minimizing the windows she had open on her desktop and sitting back in her chair just as Jacob walked in.

"Hey."

"Hey, Jake. How are you?"

"Good..." he said, dropping down into the chair opposite hers. "How about you? Any decisions made yet?"

"No. Not yet." she replied. Jacob rolled his eyes and gave her a small smile.

"Bella. I thought you had a limited time to decide on it."

"I do, it's just-"

The ringing of her cell phone from her bag stopped her mid sentence. Looking towards Jacob, she lifted the bag from the bottom drawer of her desk, pulled it out and looked at the number on the screen.

"Who is this?" she murmured, before pressing the green button and bringing it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Bella? It's me, Tanya."

Bella looked across the desk at Jacob, widening her eyes and mouthing "Tanya" to him. His response was a quiet "oh shit" before he lunged across the desk, pressing his ear against the other side of the phone.

Nosy.

"Uh, hi. How did you get my number?"

"Oh, well I got it from Edward's phone. I hope you don't mind. I actually just wanted to call and invite you to the rehearsal dinner on Friday..." Jacob pulled back from her, shaking his head and fighting back laughter as he returned to his chair, waiting on Bella to answer.

"Um, isn't that usually just for the wedding party and the family."

"Well, isn't that what you are? Family?" Tanya replied but Bella could hear the mischief in her voice. She was planning something and Bella didn't like it. But something inside of her told her to go along with it.

So, she did.

"That's sweet, Tanya. Yes, I will accept your invitation." She said, a sickeningly sweet tone to her voice.

"Awesome. I'll text you the info in a bit. See ya, Friday."

"Bye, Tanya." she forced out, then hung up. Looking over at Jacob, she couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief to what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?"

"She's trying to prove something, Bella." he said.

She knew in her gut that there was something shady about Tanya...

"Let's see what she's got then."

And she was ready for her to reveal her true self.

* * *

><p>"Edward! You'll stand here..." Julie, the wedding planner said, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him back to where she wanted him. Everyone was in their place, rehearsing what they'd be doing the following evening at the wedding and while his mind should have been at the task at hand, he couldn't help but think of Masen.<p>

And Bella.

He had gotten used to seeing Masen on the weekends. In fact, had he not been at the rehearsal at that moment, it would have been time for him to drive to the city and pick Masen up. It was a set schedule that he and Bella had worked out and he was missing it... for this.

"Tanya! You'll come right after Irina. Right leg first, Mr. Denali!"

He watched as Tanya made her way down the mock aisle, arm in arm with her father. He had seen movies where the groom would get all choked up at this part; watching his bride walking to him, ready to become his and his alone, but Edward felt nothing.

* * *

><p>"You Okay, Man?" Jay asked, bringing Edward out of his daze. He hadn't noticed that the car was stopped in front of the restaurant already and looking around the parking lot, he noticed that everyone had already arrived.<p>

"Yea, just... thinking."

Jay looked as if he was trying to think of what to say, then shook whatever it was out and smiled.

"Well, try to hurry it up because the sooner we get this rehearsal dinner out of the way, the sooner we can hit the bar for your bachelor party." Edward smiled then, knowing that it would be the part Jay was most excited for. He moved to grab the knob to get out of the car and go inside where everyone was most likely wondering where they were, but Jay stopped him.

"Ed. You sure you want to do this?" Edward paused, hand frozen in front of him as the question hung in the air. He wanted to scream "No!", to yell at Jay to turn the car on and step on the gas, taking them to the place he truly wanted to be at tonight.

"Yea. Let's go, they're probably waiting." he said, instead, opening the door and walking up the sidewalk and into the restaurant.

Jay looked on, shaking his head as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Fucking fool. Always making things harder on yourself." he said to himself, sending out the text to her to let her know he was there. The reply came immediately and he chuckled as he thought of what was to come.

It was going to be a fun night.

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><p>With Jacob's arm around her waist, Bella made her way into the restaurant. The hostess greeted them quickly and ushered them to the back of the room that was curtained off from the rest of the place. Her nerves grew and grew as she passed table after table on the way back; Men there with their wives or girlfriends turned their heads towards her and gawked, no subtle glances for this outfit.<p>

The gold colored strapless bandage dress hugged her body tightly, hitting until just above the knees. The platform pumps she wore elongated her legs, making her look more statuesque than she ever had before. Her calf length Burberry coat swished with every sway of her hips as they reached the curtain.

"May I take your coat, madam?" The hostess asked, and Bella nodded, shrugging off her coat for her to put away.

Grabbing her hand, Jacob looked down at Bella, giving her a wide smile as he whispered, "It's showtime", and pulled the curtain aside.

The room, which had been buzzing with multiple conversations before, grew quiet as soon as they walked in. Bella watched as one by one, heads turned towards where she stood. Everyone wore a look of shock on their faces, most likely from having no idea who she was, but the two faces she recognized wore different expressions.

Tanya's eyes were narrowed, her face filled with disbelief and irritation.

Edward, on the other hand, was wide eyed when he first realized it was her. Then his eyes grew lidded and his expression changed to one she hadn't seen in a while. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she remembered the previous times she had seen that look on his face.

All plans for the night flew right out the window as she returned his gaze.

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><p><strong>Hey! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. First, I want to thank everyone who is reading, adding this to your favorites or alerts or leaving me your thoughts. You guys are great.<strong>

**Some of you may know the reason I didn't update this on Friday. I'm not going to talk about that here, but should anything happen to this or any of my stories, I will definitely post them elsewhere. No word yet on where that will be, but feel free to add me on facebook (link in my profile) or author alert me so I can let you know.  
><strong>

**Did you guys dig the teasers I sent? If you want one of next chapter, let me know. :)  
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**See you soon  
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**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	23. Chapter 22

**Longest chapter I've ever written for this story... Enjoy!**

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><p>Edward stared back at Bella, blinking and rubbing his eyes in fear that what he was seeing was just an illusion. He had no idea what she was doing here. He had spoken to her earlier that week and told her that he would be taking a few days off after the wedding and he would take Masen then, but during that conversation she hadn't mentioned she would be at this dinner tonight.<p>

Their eyes stayed locked on each other and before he knew it, Edward was standing from his chair and walking over to where she stood. Before he could reach her, Tanya spoke up.

"Bella! How nice of you to join us." She said, standing up and walking over, stopping right next to where she stood with Jacob.

"Thank you for invited me, Tanya." she replied back and Edward felt his confusion grow ten times stronger. Tanya glanced over at him, just for a second, before looking around the room, introducing everyone.

"Mom, Dad, everyone, this is Bella." Bella gracefully made her way around the room, shaking hands and meeting everyone in the room one by one. He watched her move, Jacob never too far behind her, and when she got to Edward's parents, he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth as his mother stood up and embraced her.

It was difficult telling his parents about Masen. He was afraid they'd be disappointed in him or maybe even angry with Bella, but they had surprised him when their reaction was nothing but warm and excited. They had talked to Bella and had skyped with Masen plenty of times, but had just met him for the first time the day before. They adored Masen and from what they told him yesterday, they adored Bella as well. Her and Jacob took the empty seats next to his parents and they chatted away. Every so often, her gaze would drift over to him and he'd smile, she'd return it and then she'd turn back around to continue her conversation with the people around her, while Tanya dragged him into conversations he had no interest in joining.

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><p>It was different for Bella as she sat, laughing with Edward's parents and Jacob. She would look over at Edward and although he was only a couple of chairs away, he might as well have been miles away. He would give her a smile whenever they happened to lock eyes, but it wasn't the smile she had grown to love.<p>

She excused herself to the bathroom, called to check on Masen, who was with Mrs. Cope and made her way back over to the dinner. The curtain was pulled back, revealing the party on the inside and from where she stood, she could see Edward but she was far enough away that she knew he couldn't see her. He laughed with the people around him, seemingly happy to everyone around him but Bella could see that it was all an act. His smile didn't reach his eyes and his laugh sounded forced, nothing like the carefree laugh she had heard so many times before when they were together with Masen.

"See how happy he is? You should just walk out of his life and not ruin it." Tanya's voice came from behind her. Bella turned, taking in the smirk on her face and wanted nothing more than to smack it right off.

"You think he's happy?" Bella scoffed, "That just proves that you don't know him at all."

"I know him well enough, Bella. We were fine until you and your kid came into our lives..."

"Masen is his child too."

"I don't care. You're little entrance into our perfectly happy lives is threatening to ruin everything I've worked hard for."

"Worked hard for, huh? So that's your little game. Well Tanya, I'd hate to break it to you, but we're here to stay. Sooner or later Edward is going to catch on to what a slimy, low down dirty bitch you are and you'll be kicked to curb." Bella said, looking at Tanya straight in the eyes, fully showing her disgust for the woman.

"Doubtful, honey. I was there when you left him broken. I was the one to heal his wounds. Me! So how about you just disappear like you did before so him and I can go back to the way things were. I can give him real babies, Bella. You and your little bastard will mean nothing to him once we have our own."

Bella couldn't hold it back any longer. She brought her hand up, balling her hand into a fist and whipped it through the air. The sound of Bella's hand hitting straight bone and Tanya's body hitting the floor was music to her ears and she wanted to hear it over an over again but as she lunged forward, prepared to truly kick Tanya's ass, she felt herself being pulled back and restrained against a large chest.

"Bella, relax. You don't need to do this." Jacob breathed in her ear. Looking down at Tanya, Jacob couldn't help but chuckle as she sat there in a daze. He pulled Bella along, through the restaurant, collecting their jackets at the front, and outside until he came to his car. He sat her in the passenger side, then ran around to the driver's side, getting in quickly and starting it up.

"Damn, Bella. I didn't know you had that in you." he said, chuckling as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and pulled out of the parking space, and started to drive Bella home.

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><p>The phone rang a couple of times before Edward finally answered.<p>

"Jay? Where are you at? You were just here." he asked, looking around the room, sure that Jay was just pocket calling him since he had seen him maybe five minutes earlier.

"Hey Ed, I'm actually taking Bella home. She, uh, doesn't feel well so I'm just going to take her home and make sure she's OK."

"Oh. Okay, um tell her to call me if she needs anything." Edward said, wishing he could leave the dinner to be there with her. He hated that Jay was doing what he should have been doing.

"She'll be Okay. Listen, just meet me at Bar 313 in a little bit. I'll be over there as soon as I'm done here." Edward couldn't help the jealousy he felt knowing that Jay was with her, but he squashed it down, knowing that he had no right to feel that way. After all, he was getting married tomorrow.

"Sure. See you there." He said, then hung up the phone just as Tanya stepped back in the room. She was holding her face as she rushed in, whispering angrily at her parents and grabbing her purse from her chair.

"Everyone," her father announced, "We're going to cut this dinner a little short, but we'll see everyone tomorrow. Remember, the ceremony starts at 4 so everyone needs to be at the church by 3."

"Edward watched as Tanya rushed out of the room, stopping only to kiss him on the cheek and whisper "I'll see you at the alter."

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><p>Jacob heard a sob come from Bella as he neared her building. He brought his arm over to her and gently began to rub her shoulder, hoping the contact would make her calm down.<p>

"Bells. It's okay..."

"The things she said, Jacob. She was so heartless... she doesn't love him." she choked out, wiping under her eyes with her non throbbing hand.

"I heard everything she said, Bella."

"He's really going to marry her..." she said, not asking but stating. Jacob answered her anyway.

"I'm going to tell him everything I heard her say tonight, Bella. She's playing with him and he's known it for a long time-"

"He's known and he's still kept up with this sham?" she asked, looking over at him before shaking her head and looking down at her lap. "When I found out he was engaged, it killed me. Not just because he lied, but because I had all these hopes. I wanted us to be a family, Jacob. I had it all for just a few weeks and it just got ripped out from in front of me."

"It'll be okay. You can still have that after I tell him-"

"No." Bella stopped him. He pulled over, finally reaching her building and set the car in park as he turned towards her. "He knows so why should this change anything?"

"Because of the things she said about you! About his son!" Jacob couldn't help but raise his voice as he spoke.

"Maybe it's better if I just let go of this all, Jacob. Let him get married to her, let him see Masen every weekend like he has been." She said, looking out the window at her apartment building as the tears flowed down her face.

"How soon do you think it'll be before he grows tired of it? Do I really want to just wait and watch as he lives his life, hoping that when more children get brought into this situation, that my child still gets his weekends with his father? How long will it be before it turns to every other weekend because he has other kids with her? Monthly? How about when it just turns to holidays and birthday's?"

Jacob stayed silent as he watched the tears flow from her eyes.

"I can't just sit back and wait for all of this to happen, Jake. I have to live my own life and forget about him." She said as she grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

"Bella. What are you trying to say?" He asked, grabbing her arm before she could escape.

She looked sadly back at him. "I'm saying that I'm taking the job in LA and I'm taking Masen before he can get hurt."

* * *

><p>Bella refused to let Jacob help her up to her apartment. She said she was just going to go up, get Masen from Mrs. Cope's apartment and make the call to Rosalie letting her know she was accepting the job.<p>

Although she didn't want anything said to Edward about what Tanya had said, but he knew he couldn't stay quiet. So he drove back towards the bar he was meeting Edward at, breaking pretty much every traffic law in the book to get there quickly. Unable to find a parking spot in front of the bar, seeing as it was a Friday night, he parked blocks away and rushed over to the bar. He knew he needed to tell Edward everything right away, and hoped that he could find a table in a corner, away from the crowd and noise or at least convince him to leave the bar, but as he entered, he realized that his plans for the evening were not happening.

Their loud voices and cheers could be heard from down the block. Jacob had thought it was just a bunch of rowdy tourists, but when he saw that the noise was coming from non other than Edward and the crowd around him, he knew he was too late.

Edward was trashed. His face was pale and he was guzzling down liquor like it was his profession. Every so often he would yell out that it was his bachelor party and more shots would be bought by bar patrons and he would guzzle them down.

"Ed..." he said, stopping next to him. Edward turned fully in his seat, eyes bloodshot as he took in his friend and smiled a drunken smile.

"Jay! Hey J... Everyone! Thisismybestman, Jay." he said, slurring his words horribly as the crowd began to shout.

"Ed, I've been gone for an hour, tops. How long have you been drinking?" he asked. Edward held up his had, swaying side to side in the bar stool as he counted on his fingers, eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"I... I don't know." was his answer, and with another grin, he turned back around, grabbing up another drink and emptying the glass down his throat.

"Okay, man. I think you've had enough." Jacob said, standing up to pull Edward out of the seat. He began to pull him away, much to the disappointment of the rest of the patrons.

"Thank you for the booze, ladies and gents. I'm off!" Edward said as he was pulled through the bar and out the door.

"Edward, what the fuck man. You're a fucking sloppy mess." Jacob said as they reached the street. Remembering that he had parked blocks away, Jacob decided to leave Edward in front of the bar while he went and got the car. He ran as fast as he could and when he reached the car, he jumped in and sped the few blocks back to the front of the bar. Edward was stumbling backwards, holding his arms out to catch himself on anything but finding nothing. Jacob jumped out of the car as fast as he could but realized he was a little too late as he watched Edward tumble down to the ground, hitting his ass on the sidewalk violently.

"Ow. Thathurt." he slurred. Jacob laughed and bent down to pick him up off the ground. He placed him in the passenger side and then jumped into the drivers side and began to drive them away.

With his head laid back, Edward looked towards Jay.

"Is Bella Okay?" he asked. Jay looked over at him shaking his head in disbelief that Edward could get this drunk.

"She's fine, man." he answered. He had wanted to tell him everything that happened tonight, but with the state he was in, it was hopeless.

"Take me to see her?" Edward said, causing Jay to nearly swerve off the road as he looked over to him in shock.

"What? You're drunk as hell, Ed. I don't think I-"

"Please Jay. I just want to see her..."

He knew it was a bad idea, that he should just take Edward back to the hotel room he had for the night, but against his better judgment, he found himself turning around and driving towards Bella's apartment.

* * *

><p>Edward staggered to the elevator, with Jay close behind. He leaned down, squinting at the buttons on the side, trying his best to clear his blurry vision to be able to hit the right one. Seeing his friend having difficulty picking the right floor, Jay stepped forward, pressing the button for him and then stepping back.<p>

"Thanks man. It looks like the changed the numbers around or something." he said, leaning on the wall, fighting the urge to vomit that the movement of the elevator gave him.

Finally on Bella's floor, Edward darted out of the elevator, and down the hall, stopping in front of her door.

"Bella!" He called out as he pounded his fists against the door, ignoring Jay's hushed requests for him to quiet down. In his inebriated state, his mind was all a blur, but one thing remained clear- He wanted her.

"Bella! Answer this door, Bella!" He yelled once again, continuing to pound on the door until he was hitting nothing but air. Focusing in front of himself, he realized that door was flung open and on the other side, a sleep disheveled Bella stood, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Edward? Masen is sleeping and I have neighbors, you know? What the hell is so important that yo-" Edward moved then, silencing her as he brought his mouth to hers. Bella's tense body relaxed against him, her limbs turning to jelly at the feel of his lips on hers.

His tongue met hers and Bella instantly realized this was wrong.

"Edward, you're drunk." she said, pushing at his shoulders and taking a few steps back.

"Bella... I want you so much..." He said, then moved forward, trying to pull her to him once again, but she held her arms in front of herself, keeping him from getting any closer than arms length from her.

"Edward... You shouldn't be here, you're getting married tomorrow."

"Bella. I lo-" he started but was cut off as he began to vomit, splattering chunks all over the floor near her feet.

She had had enough at this point and looking up at him in disgust, she grabbed on to the door.

"You need to grow the hell up, Edward! Come back when you can act like an adult and not some college freshman at his first damn frat party."

Edward stood there, not knowing what to do as Bella flung the door, causing it to slam shut in his face.

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><p><strong>*Sings* <em>Have a little faith in me...<em>**

**Thank you everyone who is reviewing, story alerting, favoriting... whatever. You guys are great! If you still want teasers, let me know!  
><strong>

**Thanks again and see you soon!  
><strong>

**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	24. Chapter 23

**What some of you have been waiting for... Enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom... ;)**

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><p>"<em>Please..." She begged, gripping onto his shoulders, pulling him tighter to her. He shifted from bearing his weight on his hands to his forearms, bringing his body flush against hers. She let out a breathy moan as she threw her head back, eyes clenched shut as she felt how deep he suddenly was. <em>

"_Like that?" he whispered, rocking slower into her but she was too far gone to answer. Digging her nails into the flesh of his back, she lost herself. Walls clenching tightly around him as she cried out from her release, he felt his own not too far behind. _

_**Knock** **Knock**_

"_Fuck, who is that?" He said, staring down at his beauty. Her eyes met his as he got closer to the edge but the tears in her eyes caused him to stop his movement, and bring his hands to the side of her face._

"_What's wrong?" he asked, searching her face for answers as the tears that had been pooling in her eyes suddenly spilled out the corners of her eyes and onto the pillow beneath her._

_**Knock Knock**_

"_Don't..." was all she said and he shook his head, not understanding what she meant. The knocking was persistent and he took a glance towards the door, hoping whoever was on the other side would give up and walk away._

_When he looked back to her, she was gone...noting but pillows and sheets beneath him._

_**Knock Knock**_

"Come on, E! Let me in!" Edward heard as he jolted himself up, immediately regretting it as his head began to pound. With his head back on the pillows, he opened one eye and looked around in panic as the last visions of the dream he had just had played through his mind.

She was gone... He had lost her.

"Edward! Do I have to break this door down? I'll do it! I can pay for the repairs, Asshole." Jay yelled from the other side of the door. His head was throbbing as he raised himself from the hotel bed and walked over to the door to open it for Jay.

"Hey man! I'd ask how you're doing, but with how drunk you were last night, I know you have got to be feeling pretty miserable." Jay practically yelled as he bounded into the room, watching Edward as he staggered back to the bed.

"Please...Inside voices..." Edward begged, his voice muffled since his face was buried in a pillow.

"Here." Jay said, stopping next to the bed, holding out a bottle of water and a bottle of aspirin. Edward lifted his head slowly, seeing what was held before him and quickly took it, flopping to his back and stuffing pillows behind his head to prop himself up, before taking the medicine.

"We need to talk about last night..." Jay said, as he took a seat on the end of the bed and looked down at his friend.

"Jay, please... later." he replied, then threw his arm over his face to block out the sunlight.

"There is no later, man. Don't you remember what today is?" he asked, and Edward thought for a second before it hit him.

Today was his wedding day.

"Fuck... what time is it?"

"It's just after noon. You've got less than three hours."

He pushed himself up off the bed as he muttered a string of curses. Ignoring the pounding in his head, he walked towards the bathroom.

"Edward! You can't ignore what happened." Jay said. He stood up from the bed and walked over to Edward, stopping just a few feet away from him and crossing his arms across his chest. He knew that this needed to be done now. He couldn't just sit back and watch Edward make the biggest mistake of his life by marrying the wrong woman.

It was Bella and Masen that he belonged with.

"Jay, I need to get ready." Edward said and then continued towards the bathroom.

He remembered bits and pieces of the night before, some things clearer in his memory than others. One of those things, was what happened after he left the bar. He had made an ass out of himself and Bella had slammed the door in his face... but not before he lost half of the contents of his stomach on the ground in front of her.

He remembered the look on her face right before the door shut as clear as day. He had pissed her off, annoyed her and he hated himself for it. In his eyes, his actions the night before had sealed his fate with her. She would never look at him the same way again.

He shut the door to the bathroom behind himself, but Jay's voice still was loud and clear from the other side.

"You need to be sure this is what you really want, E. Call her."

Edward stayed silent as he looked at himself in the mirror. He ignored Jay's demands, turning the shower on to drown out his voice.

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><p>"Fine! You want to be like that? I'll do it myself then!" Jay said as he moved from the door, making his way out of the room. He went into the hallway, pulled out his phone from his pocket and scrolled through the contacts while pressing the button for the elevator. He pressed call once he found her name and brought the phone up to his ear, listening as the line trilled and the elevator dinged.<p>

After what seemed like forever, she finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Bella!" he said, glad that the call hadn't gone to voice mail. He stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby then stood back.

"Hey Jake. What's going on?" There was something different about her voice, but he ignored it and began his plea.

"You guys have to stop this..."

"Who? Stop what?"

"You and Edward. I've sat back and watched this shit go on long enough. You know as well as I know that Edward doesn't belong with Tanya." He stepped out once he reached the lobby, making his way to the sitting area near the front desk.

"Jake..."

"Just say you don't feel something for him, Bells. Say it's all in my head, and I'll leave it alone. But just remember, I saw the two of you last night. You could barely keep your eyes off of each other..."

"Jake... I can't"

"Bella, please. " He begged.

"Jake," she sighed, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice, "I can't do this anymore."

"You can't just give up like this! You can't sit back and let this happen!" He practically yelled into the phone as others around him glanced at him. "Please. The wedding isn't for another two hours. He's getting ready in the hotel room. I can bring you to him, you can tell him how you feel..."

"I can't do that, Jake. Besides, I won't even be here in two hours."

"Wha- What do you mean, Bella?" he stammered.

Bella let out the sob she had been holding in as she answered him, and what she said caused his heart to drop and for him to realize that there was no saving this.

"I'm at the airport, Jake. My flight leaves in an hour."

"No... No, no, no. Bella... don't do this."

"I'll call you when I get there." she said softly

"Bella! You can't! Don't throw this all away!"

"Goodbye, Jake." she said and ended the call.

Jacob stood there, unable to believe what he'd just heard. He had no idea how long he stood there and cursed himself for failing- for letting them fail themselves. It was supposed to be simple, he thought.

Angry with the world, he took off down the hallway leading to where the wedding was being held. She would be there... and she was his last resort.

He was going to have a talk with Tanya Denali.

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><p>After finishing his shower and dressing, Edward looked at himself in the full length mirror just outside the bathroom. He was dressed head to toe in the most expensive, high quality fabrics that could be bought. Every piece of clothing he wore looked exquisite; he looked like money. Tanya had insisted that he wear only the best and that was exactly what he had done. His shoes alone cost more than most people made in a month...<p>

But he couldn't fight the fact that all of this felt wrong.

This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. He was supposed to be thinking about how happy he was to be marrying the love of his life, but truth was he didn't see Tanya when he thought about that. Instead he saw warm brown eyes and chestnut hair, fair skin with the lightest dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. He saw the way her face would light up when she laughed as they watched their son laugh... her smile when she saw him.

He saw Bella.

Something changed then. The haze he had been living in for so long, denying what he felt was right, suddenly lifted. He no longer wanted to do what he was supposed to; what was expected of him. Bella didn't want him to leave Tanya for her, she had practically forbidden him to do it. Tanya expected him to devote himself to her and her alone... All of the weight that had been put on his shoulders shattered as he finally surrendered himself to the truth. He was done doing what others wanted or expected... he was going to do what he wanted to; what he needed to.

He wanted Bella. He wanted Masen. He needed his family.

His feet moved before he even realized what he was doing, rushing out of the hotel room and bypassing the elevators completely as he headed towards the staircase. He knew what he wanted and even though she had said what she had the night before, he knew that he couldn't give up on her.

Reaching the lobby, he rushed back to where he knew Tanya would be getting ready... and as he turned the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks as their voices drifted to him from inside the room.

"I heard what you said to her yesterday, Tanya. The shit you were spouting off to her... did you actually believe any of it or were you just trying to convince yourself?"

"Everything I said was true. I have no shame in admitting that her and that kid's appearance into Edward's and my life was doing nothing but straining us. After everything I've done for him, you think I'm just going to sit back and watch her waltz in and steal the life I've always wanted?"

"So that is what this is about? You just wanted someone to sink your fangs into? I bet it helps that E has all the money that he does, huh? Do you honestly think Edward would ever put you before his son?"

Tanya's laugh was menacing as she answered Jay's question. "What do you think will happen when we have our own kids? Some little bastard he created after a drunken one night stand will never be more important than the children I give him. So yes, if he knew what was good for him, he would put me before that... kid."

With fists clenched tightly, he walked around the corner, stopping in the doorway just as his mother stormed into the room from the adjoining dressing room. He watched as his mother walked up behind an unsuspecting Tanya and tapped her twice on the shoulder. He then watched as Tanya slowly turned around, only to have her face met by his mother's open palm. The slap echoed throughout the room and Edward watched as everyone in the room reacted differently to what had just occurred. His mother looked feral, as if she could just tear Tanya to shreds with her bare hands. Tanya was shocked, holding her hand to her reddened face as she tried to make sense of that fact that sweet little Esme had just hit her.

And Jacob stared wide eyed at the both of them as he fought to keep a smile off his face.

"Esme! Wha-" Tanya began, but his mother was quick to silence her.

"Don't you dare speak! You have the nerve to speak of my grandchild, of my son in such a manner, and you expect _not _ to get this sort of reaction? I never liked you, Tanya, but for my son, I put my feelings for you aside because he felt that this is what he wanted. But now that it's clear what kind of person you are, I know this will be the last time I set eyes on you and I couldn't be any happier."

Edward cleared his throat then and all three faces turned towards him. He stepped into the room, wrapping his arms around his mother as Tanya began rambling out excuses.

"Edward... I didn't mean anything. I've just been stressed out about the whole wedding planning thing. I'm not in my right mind..." she continued as Edward met eyes with his mom. Without a word exchanged between the two of them, she smiled up at her son and then turned towards the door, but not before shooting one last glare towards Tanya. He then met eyes with Jay, who beamed at his friend and raced forward, locking arms with Edward's mother as he whispered something in her ear that caused her to giggle softly as they left the room

"Edward...I-" she continued, but he cut her off before she could finish.

"This is the last time you will see me. I want you to go out there, tell the wedding planner that the wedding is canceled and after that, I want you to get out of my house, and out of my life."

"Edward, you can't be serious..."

"I saw glimpses of the real you, but in fear of being alone, I ignored them. You were scared when Bella came back into my life because you knew... You knew as well as I did that she was the one. She has always been the one."

"Please, Edward... you can't do this..." she begged, but he continued.

"I put aside my true feeling because I felt like I owed you for being there for me when I had nothing, but you were just there for your own selfish reasons. I'm tired of doing what it felt like I had to just to spare your feelings..."

Tears streamed down her face but it didn't affect him the way it had before. He no longer could muster up any care for the woman in front of him.

"Lastly, the fact that you could speak so ill of my son..." he said, then stopped to take a deep breath to calm himself. "Let's just say that with everything I've heard you say just now, you're lucky that you're a woman."

He turned to walk out of the room, but stopped once again in the doorway and without looking back at her, her spoke to her for the last time. "Have a nice life, Tanya."

* * *

><p>His mother was waiting for him just outside of the door as he walked out. Wrapped in a tight hug, she gave him a smile.<p>

"Don't you have a girl to go see?" she asked, pushing his chest away and motioning for him to get a move on. He smiled, kissed the top of her head and began to jog through the halls, past the lobby and the front desk. Before he could reach the front doors leading out to the street, he heard Jay as he caught up with him.

"Edward... "

"I can't talk right now. I have to get Bella and Masen..."

"I know... It's just that I talked to Bella a while ago. She's at the airport, E."

Edward looked to his friend in disbelief.

"What do you mean she's at the airport? Why would she be there?"

Jacob quickly told him everything and once he was finished, Edward's head was throbbing worse than it had been earlier.

"She said her flight left in an hour but that was over a half hour ago."

"I need to go..." He said and ran through the doors, shooting his arm up in the air and whistling for a taxi.

"You'll never make it in time in a cab," Jay said, looking towards the valet workers who didn't need a ticket to remember what car he had come in. The small man took off running towards the parking garage and was back within two minutes with his car. "I'll try and see what flight she was on and I'll call you."

"Thanks, Jay."

"Go get your girl, E." Jay said, smiling as Edward jumped in the front seat and took off towards the airport.

He hoped he made it in time but most of all, he hoped Bella could forgive him for not fighting for her sooner.

* * *

><p><strong>*Sigh*<strong>

**Thanks again to everyone alerting/favoriting/reviewing this story... you are awesome.  
><strong>

**Some of you that review don't say anything about wanting a teaser, but if you review, I send one anyway. So, in short: Review=Teaser. You might want next chapter's teaser... Just sayin. ;)  
><strong>

**If any of you write your own fics, let me know. I would love to read/pimp them out! If you're reading anything pretty amazing, sharing is caring, peeps...  
><strong>

**I had the story "Do Over" by TKegl on my favorites for over a year but just never remembered to read it. I finally got to it the other day and... I just can't even explain how many emotions I went through while reading it. It's beautiful (and Christmas-y) so if you haven't already, go check it out.  
><strong>

**See you soon...  
><strong>

**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	25. Chapter 24

"Fuck! Goddammit, Move the fuck out of the way!" Edward yelled out as he kept coming up behind idiots that, no doubt, had no fucking clue how to properly operate a vehicle. The cars were moving so slow and he was running out of time... he had to get to her.

His phone rang from the passenger seat, where he had tossed it when he first got in the car, and he grabbed it quickly, taking his eyes off the road briefly to see who was calling.

**Jay**

"Yea.." was all he said as he answered. He tucked the phone between his ear and his shoulder and brought both hands to the wheel.

"She's on Coastal Airlines, Flight 313. It leaves in fifteen minutes. I already set everything up for you so just pick up your ticket at the counter and hurry the fuck up."

"Thanks man..." was all he answered, then he ended the call and tossed the phone back on the seat.

The signs announcing that the airport was just a mile away made him speed up a little more. He was almost there... he would make it.

He had to.

* * *

><p>Her chest got tighter and tighter as she watched the line of people waiting to board the plane disappear one by one down the Jetway.<p>

For the millionth time, she stared down at her cell phone and wondered if she was doing the right thing.

"Last call for all passengers for flight 313 to Los Angeles." The woman's voice called over the intercom and Bella's chest got even tighter. She looked next to her toward Mrs. Cope, who held Masen's sleeping form in her arms, and she gave Bella a smile.

"Whatever you want to do, Honey, it'll be fine." she said soothingly. Bella smiled, although she knew that the statement 'It'll be fine' couldn't be further than the truth at that moment. The man she loved was getting married- He would be a married man by the time her flight landed in LA... and the pain she felt from knowing it was excruciating.

But she had to think of what was best for Masen...

"I'm ready. Let's go." She said as she stood, holding her arms out for her son. With him placed in her arms, Bella made her way to the front, handing over her boarding pass.

"Enjoy your flight, Ladies." the woman said, and slowly, Bella began to inch forward.

As soon as she passed the doorway, she stopped and turned around looking back towards the inside of the terminal. She had seen so many movies and TV shows where the lead character went to get on a plane, only to be stopped by the love of her life as they ran through the airport, screamed their name and expressed their love. They'd beg them not to go and the lead character would cry and run into their arms and there was no doubt that they would have their happily ever after.

But the fact was that this wasn't a TV show or a cheesy romantic movie...

So she turned back around, gave a reassuring smile to Mrs. Cope who had paused along with her and continued walking back towards the plane, just as the door behind her slammed shut.

* * *

><p>In movies when it's announced that someone is at the airport to stop someone they love from jumping on a plane, the crowd cheers, they rush the person to the front of the line... they might even bypass security completely.<p>

Edward wished he was in a movie.

By the time he made it to the terminal, he had no time left. The screen announcing the departure and arrivals had shown that flight 313 to Los Angeles was boarding and scheduled to leave on time.

'On time' was five minutes ago.

He rushed through the terminal, searching for gate 12 and when he finally reached it, he skidded to a stop in front of it and approached the desk.

"Please. I'm supposed to be on this flight." He told the woman as he pointed to the closed door.

"Sir, I'm sorry but it's already pushed off. We're going to have to get you on a later flight." His eyes watered and he dropped his head into his hands at the news.

"When is the next flight?" He choked out as he wiped under his eyes.

"The next flight is in three hours. There are available seats so you won't have to be on standby. Do you want me to book them for you?"

"Please." He said, and watched as the plane slowly inched forward, towards the runway. After confirming his place on the next flight out, Edward took his seat and pulled out his phone. He sent Jay a text, unable to trust that his voice wouldn't crack as he explained what had happened.

The response came almost immediately.

**Sorry Man. Call me when you land and I'll see what info I can get for you.**

He tucked the phone back in his pocket, laid his head against the back of the chair and began the wait to get to his family.

* * *

><p>Bella's flight had landed just after 5, LA time. The hours following, she barely got the time to think. After locating the luggage, the car that Rose had sent for them, and setting Mrs. Cope and herself up in a hotel room, she was exhausted. But her day wasn't over. It was just after 8pm when she finally got Masen to go to bed. The Pack n Play was located in Mrs. Cope's room since Bella would have to leave straight from there to the new building to meet Rose.<p>

It was well after 1 am by the time Bella reached the hotel. She was dragging herself through the lobby, the only thing keeping her moving was knowing that a nice plush bed awaited her just a few floors up. The elevator dinged and opened up on her floor and she trudged out, passing Mrs. Copes door and rounding the corner to hers...

There, slumped over in front of the door, sat Edward.

"Edward?" She called out, her voice breaking at the end. She couldn't believe he was here. She took his appearance in, his crumpled up tux, disheveled hair... and he still looked amazing. He stood from the floor, eyes locked on hers as he stalked over to her.

"Bella..."

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she remembered that today was his wedding day. He should be on his honeymoon right now... not here in the hallway of her hotel.

"I was stupid..." he said, his eyes dripped with remorse as he stared and she found herself shaking her head, deep down knowing what was happening but not at all ready for what it would do to her.

"What happened, Edward? You're supposed to be in New York. At your wedding..."

"I was so fucking stupid, Bella," he began and the look in his eyes told her he wasn't done with what he had to say. So she let him continue, "I thought I was doing the right thing, you know. I felt like I owed Tanya... for being patient with me while I tried to get back to normal... after you,"

Tears pricked Bella's eyes and he inched closer to her and rested his hand on her cheek.

"It was wrong, Bella. Everything about it was so wrong and I knew it but I let it go on in fear that I would never get another chance. Then I found you again," Her tears began to fall then.

"I know now that I should have called everything off the second you came back into my life. It had always been you, Bella. Since that night... you captivated my thoughts, my mind, my heart." Her body met his as she tilted her face up to meet his eyes.

"I love you, Bella." She shut her eyes as his words hit her, fought the emotion coursing through her, but lost as a sob escaped her throat.

"I know this might be a little too much for you and I'm prepared to wait. I'm prepared to work for it and make you see that I want you. I want you and Masen... I want us to be a family."

Bella looked up at him then, gripped the sides of his face in her hands and pulled his face to meet hers.

"I love you too, Edward." She said, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his. Her hands disappeared into the wild mess of hair atop his head as his hands roamed from her hips to her back as he pulled her body flush against his. Their mouths moved against one another, only separating for short gasps of air. She had needed this, missed this. Missed him.

A door down the hall opened, and they pulled apart with a loud smack as their eyes darted to the head that had popped out of the room, no doubt checking to see what the noise was about. They watched as the person's face turned red in embarrassment and quickly disappeared, the click of the door echoing through the hall.

"Maybe we should-"

"Let's go inside-"

They both laughed and Bella dug into her bag for her room key.

She opened the door, then went to walk in but stopped when she realized Edward wasn't joining her.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, watching as Edward stood awkwardly to the side, hand buried in his hair as he fought himself on what to do next.

"I-uh. I should actually go downstairs and get my own room. I sort of just ran up here and waited..."

"Um. OK," The sting of rejection was strong but she knew it was the right thing for both of them. There was a lot to discuss, a lot of decisions to be made.

"Are you too busy tomorrow? Maybe we can spend some time together? You, me and Masen?"

She smiled at him and nodded her head. With the promise of tomorrow running through her mind, she kissed his cheek and then watched him as he stepped onto the elevator. Once it had closed, she turned back towards her room, unable to keep the smile off her face.

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a rough week for me and this chapter was supposed to be longer but I had to cut it off there to be able to post today. As soon as I'm finished with the next one, it will be posted no matter what day it is. <strong>

**At this point, there is only one chapter left and I plan on having two epilogues but I may just combine them into one giant one.  
><strong>

**I also plan of there being one or two outtakes. Some of you have asked to see Tanya being kicked out of Edward's house so I'm planning on writing that. If any of you want to see something else, let me know and I'll try and get that out.  
><strong>

**Thank you for reading!  
><strong>

**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	26. Chapter 25

After the call from Edward where he let her know that he had gotten a room a few floors up, Bella laid back and fought for sleep... but it never came. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning as thoughts of the big decisions that would have to be made soon hung heavy in her mind.

He had chosen her. Edward had followed her across the country and admitted his feelings for her... but she had already made plans for her life. A life without Edward. What would she do now?

She thought back to that night outside of her apartment. The night that Riley had given her and Masen a ride home and Edward cornered her outside the building. He had wanted her then, she knew, but she had put that to a stop. She couldn't bear the thought of being the cause of the end of their engagement. But what if she had admitted to herself that she had felt the same way then? She wouldn't be in this situation.

She wouldn't have accepted the position so far from him. She would be staying in New York, close to him, where they would work on what they had going, where Masen was just a car ride away from him. Edward had an important job where dozens of people depended on him... he couldn't leave it behind.

Everything was complicated now, more so than before, and she knew she had a big part in making it that way.

Come morning, she just hoped she could help fix it.

* * *

><p>The day that they had spent together could be described as nothing else, but bliss. There was laughter and fun and it was everything Bella could have ever wished her son would have, but wasn't sure he ever would. There were times throughout the day where she forgot about the dark cloud looming above them, waiting to be acknowledged, the talk that would have to take place, but it always found its way back to her mind.<p>

"Let's put him down for bed and then can we talk?" Edward asked as he carried Masen on his back through the lobby of their hotel.

"That's fine." was Bella's response as she pushed the button to cue the elevator. She tried her hardest to keep the worry and anxiousness from getting to her but the closer the elevator got to her floor, the more it seemed to take over.

Mrs. Cope peeked her head out of her hotel room as soon as they reached her floor. After they listened to her tell about the day she had spent wandering the city and seeing the sights, she insisted on putting Masen to bed to let them both talk.

After kisses and hugs goodnight to Masen, Bella and Edward made their way down the hall to her hotel room, nerves frazzled as she opened the door and motioned for him to enter.

The wait was over.

Edward eyed the bed as he entered, then opted to sit at the table instead, not wanting this night to go there, at least until they were on the same page about their future. She pulled the chair opposite from him out, and sunk down into it, resting her intertwined hands on top of the table and gnawing nervously at her bottom lip.

"So," he started, causing her to lift her eyes to meet his, "Bella, I just want to apologize for last night. Things almost got out of hand and I didn't give you the chance to say anything you needed to before..." he paused, dropping his eyes to the table top briefly before looking back to her.

"I honestly don't know what to say." she said, shaking her head as she felt the tears burn her eyes, "I had my mind made up about what my life would be, I had given up any hopes of having you in the picture. I was stupid and I thought that I would be fine without you in my life, in Masen's life. All I could see is you marrying... _her_ and going on to start your own family and forgetting all about Masen..."

"I would have never forgotten about him, Bella."

"Well, Tanya painted a different picture..." she said, eyes locked on his, he felt the anger as it began to erupt inside of him at the mention of her name.

"She would never had gotten the chance to make that decision."

"I know that now..."

"It was never real with her, do you understand?" he said, eyes burning. "In all the time I spent with her, she never made me feel how you did in just one night... and still do to this day." His words made her heart soar and she fought the urge to lunge across the table into his arms.

"So, where do we go from here?" she asked calmly. He laid back in the chair, glanced up at the ceiling briefly and then back to her, inhaling deeply before he answered.

"I don't know." he answered honestly. They would be on two different coasts in just a few short weeks. "I know that I want to be with you and Masen, I want us to be a family."

"I want that too." she said. She smiled at him as he stood from his chair and walked around to her, bent down to the floor and brought his hands to his face.

"I never want to lose either of you again." he said as he tilted his face up to hers. She closed the space in between them, her lips a whisper away from his.

"You won't." She promised.

"So we'll figure something out." He said, and then pressed his lips against hers.

* * *

><p>"...Happy Birthday dear Masen... Happy Birthday to you!" Everyone cheered as Bella leaned down to blow out the candles on the cake in front of him.<p>

With cake passed out to nearly everyone, Bella sat beside Masen and Edward at the table as watched as their son devoured the food, smearing icing all over his face.

It was both an exciting day as well as a somber one. Exciting because her son was turning one and they were surrounded by everyone they loved. Somber because it was the last day her and Masen would be in the city. Moving day was the following day and they would be going alone... without Edward.

Ever since that night in the hotel a few weeks ago, they had been trying to find a way to be able to stay in the same city, but with the firm opening up in a few days and Edward not being able to leave his job, it was inevitable that they would be apart. Days earlier she had gone to him crying, telling him that she would tell Rose that she wasn't going, to send someone else in her place but all he had done was hold her as she cried and convince her not to throw the opportunity that she had been given, away.

He was so selfless, so kind, that it made her heart ache worse to know that she would be leaving.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Edward helped to make sure Bella had gotten everything packed and ready for the move. As the time crept closer to the time they would have to leave to the airport, Bella found herself unable to fight her emotions. She clutched on to him as they stood in the now semi empty apartment, tears stained his shirt and sniffles filled the air.<p>

"I love you." she said as she pulled back slightly and wiped under her eyes. His eyes were bloodshot but he had yet to spill any tears, she noticed.

"I love you too. This will all be fine, Bella. You'll see." he said just as Mrs. Cope knocked on the door and let them know that the taxi was waiting for them downstairs.

"We gotta go if you're going to make your flight." he whispered into her hair.

Downstairs, Bella held Masen as Edward helped the cabbie place their bags into the trunk. Once inside, the ride to the airport was silent as she held on to her family, dreading having to say goodbye to Edward although she knew it wouldn't be long before she saw him again.

After checking all the bags, which seemed to be heavier than they had been before, Bella placed her carry on bag on her shoulder and held her arms out for Masen once they reached security.

"I love you, Edward." she said as she began to cry for the thirtieth time that day. He hugged them both to his chest, placing a kiss on each one before leaning back and showing a small smile.

"I love you both. I'll see you soon."

* * *

><p>Bella found their seats easily. Center aisle in the front row. No seats for Masen to kick, which was ideal. She buckled his seat into the seat in the center and had strapped him in before she even realized that maybe the person who would sit in the empty chair at the end would not want to sit next to a toddler. She thought briefly about switching him to the end but decided against it, knowing that it would be bothering more than just the person next to her if he was in the end seat. She took a toy out to occupy him during the flight and placed the bag in the overhead compartment.<p>

Slowly, more people trickled into the plane but so far no one was in the end seat. She hoped it would remain empty, but knew that if not, there were plenty of empty chairs, the person could just move to an unoccupied seat to avoid any issues.

It was almost time for the flight to leave and Masen had just thrown his toy to the floor in front of him, laughing hysterically as Bella unbuckled her seat belt and reached down to grab it.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had her immediately annoyed since she knew they would be most likely complaining about having to sit next to her rowdy son for the long flight.

Grabbing the toy, she began to brush it off. "Listen, I'm sure you can ask to move to another..." she looked up then, and her voice caught in her throat as she saw him standing next them.

Edward smirked down at her as Masen went crazy, kicking his legs and waving his arms to get his father's attention. He looked down at Masen, kissed the top of his head and brought his eyes back to Bella who finally snapped out of her shock.

"Wha- What are you doing here?" she asked, as she stood up, inches in front of him.

"I'm moving with my family to Los Angeles." he said as he inched closer to her, extending his arm to grab hers in his hand.

"But... what about your job? You have no bags... your.."

"I've been offered a last minute transfer to LA Memorial and I start in two weeks. I might have stuck a few things of mine into your suitcase." He said sheepishly, "I've also arranged for everything else of mine to be delivered with your things next week." she looked up at him in awe and wrapped her arms around him as she began to cry... for the thirty-first time.

"I can't believe this is happening right now..." she said, then felt his hands pulling at her chin as he nudged her face up to meet his.

"I'm never letting you go again, Bella. I love you."

"I love you, too." she said and sighed before his lips met hers. They stayed entangled until their departure was announced. Once they were seated, Bella's eyes didn't leave him. She watched as he played with their son, every so often locking eyes with her and her heart felt like it was about to explode with all the love she felt for this man.

In such a short amount of time, he had given her everything she had ever wanted but wasn't sure she would ever get. It was so much that she had received from him that she wasn't sure if she could ever give him anything that would equate to what he had given her...

But she would spend the rest of her life trying.

* * *

><p><strong>The Epilogue will be up in a couple of days. If you haven't already, go check out my new story 'Black Sheep'. It's Definitely 18 and up though so... you know ;)<strong>

**See you soon...**


	27. Epilogue

**Three Years Later**

"That was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to." Bella said as they walked out of the hotel.

"Jacob's mom had a field day planning it. She had to, you know. Who ever would have thought that he would get married?" Edward said as Bella laughed. It was true, no one saw this coming.

All it took was Bella moving to L.A., Angela getting bumped up to agent and taking over Bella's clients. The rest, as they say, was history.

They waited together on the sidewalk, watching out for the next available cab and when they caught one, they quickly got in, gave directions for their hotel and sat back, watching the city lights blur as they sped away.

"Do you want to call your parents and make sure Masen is doing Ok?" Bella asked, staring up him.

"We'll call when we get to the hotel, Ok?" he said and Bella nodded, turning her head to look out the window once again.

It had been three years since they had been in New York and watching how the city was bursting with life at the late hour, made her realize how much she missed it. A lot had changed since she'd been here.

Bella was running Hale PR on the west coast and the company was doing amazing. Edward opened up his own practice the year before and was one of the most sought out doctor's in the area. Masen was almost four years old and was your normal, rambunctious little boy. He was also the spitting image of his father.

Another big change was that Bella Swan was now Bella Cullen. They married after a year of living in LA in a small beach side wedding with only their closet friends and family in attendance. Masen officially became a Cullen around the same time.

The cab pulled to a stop outside of the hotel and Edward took care of the fare while Bella stepped out onto the curb and looked up at the building in front of her. To anyone else, it was just a nice hotel. A nice place to lay your head when you were away from home... but for Bella, it was the place in which her life began.

The night she had spent in the hotel in front of her over four years ago had brought her Edward and Masen. It also brought her a life that she had never even been able to imagine could happen to her.

Edward placed his arm around his wife and pulled her through the doors, through the lobby and to the elevators.

His lips met hers before the doors closed.

* * *

><p>They separated only to step out of the elevator as it reached their floor and Edward quickly tugged his wife down the hall, eager to get her into the room. He slid the room key quickly and threw open the door, dragging his wife inside and not bothering to turn on the light as he once again fused his lips to hers. He grabbed on to her tightly and began to walk, pushing her backwards all the way to the bedroom. The room was lit by the lights of the city pouring in through the large open window.<p>

The discarded of their clothes slowly, barely leaving each others mouths and once Bella's legs hit the side of the bed, they were both completely bare. His hands rested on her back as he gently moved forward, holding her body to his as he lowed her down to the bed and hovered over her.

"I love you." He whispered as his lips traveled from hers, to her neck as he gently nipped and licked his way down. She squirmed underneath him, needing him anywhere and everywhere and groaning out loud when his warm mouth met one of her peaks.

"Please, Edward." she begged, her hands roaming up and down his body as he shifted to the other breast, darting his tongue out and swiping it across the pebbled peak.

"Please what, baby?" he asked, moving his lips lower.

"Make love to me... Please, Edward." she gasped as his fingers slid up her slit, causing her to arch her back off the bed. His response was a growl as he shifted his body, positioning himself at her entrance and quickly burying himself inside of her.

* * *

><p>Bella laid her head on his chest and listened as his heart beat furiously in his chest, worked up from how they had spent the past few few hours. She ran her fingers over his skin, feeling the dampness from his sweat and watching as his skin burst into gooseflesh wherever she touched.<p>

"That was..." He began but paused, his breathing deep and quick.

"It always is." Bella answered, looking up at him with a lazy smile, utterly spent from their lovemaking.

Once his breathing returned to normal, Edward shifted to his side, laying face to face with Bella.

"Can you believe the last time we were in this hotel was the night Masen was made?" He asked, smiling at her. "Maybe this time we'll get lucky again..." he wiggled his eyebrows causing her to laugh.

"I don't think that's going to happen." she said with a wide smile on her face.

"And why not? It worked fine the last time, who's to say it won't work this time?" he asked, shifting to bring his elbow up onto the bed and resting his head in his hand. Bella moved to her back, eyes glistening as she whispered back.

"Because I'm already pregnant."

Edward stared at her in shock for a moment and then his smile became as wide as hers as he leaned down to kiss her quickly.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me? How far along are you?" he asked

"I wanted to wait for the right time to tell you. I'm almost eight weeks."

His eyes began to water, overwhelmed with the news that he was going to be a father to another little one. He grabbed on to her, holding her tight against his chest as he peppered kisses on her face and hair.

Edward ran his hand over her stomach, already excited that he would actually get to watch as she grew his child inside of her.

"Have you ever realized how crazy our story is?" She asked him.

"Our story isn't that crazy..."

"No, seriously," she laughed. "Think about it. We meet and spend the night together. I leave and neither of us ever think we'll see one another again. Then, we come around the same way some time later and I have your child and after some crazy twists and turns, we end up together."

"You're right. That would make an awesome book or movie.." he chuckled, leaning down to kiss her once again.

"It really would," she said, staring up at him. "How do you think it ends?" she whispered to him.

With that, he brought both his hands to her face, cupping the sides, his eyes burned into hers as he spoke only two words.

"It doesn't."

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>*Sniff*<br>**

**I want to say thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, rec'd and enjoyed this story. You guys are awesome!  
><strong>

**Some of you asked to see Tanya getting kicked out of Edward's by Esme and I'm working on that and it will post soon.  
><strong>

**If you haven't already and you're 18 and up, go and check out my new story, Black Sheep. It should be smutty fun. ;)  
><strong>

**Again, thank you for reading.  
><strong>

**xoxo Ana  
><strong>


	28. Outtake: Mama Bear

**Outtake: Mama Bear**

* * *

><p>Esme sat at the same chair she had occupied for the past three hours, staring out the front window that looked out to the driveway, and waited. It was just after midnight and there she sat, in the darkened house watching for the car to pull up through the slats in the blinds.<p>

"Esme! Come on, I don't think she's coming. Let's go home." Carlisle's voice came from the hallway. He was exhausted, as was she, from the day they had just had. When it was announced that the wedding was called off, they had to answer questions and make sure the bill for everything that hadn't yet been paid for, went straight to the Denali's.

Edward had paid enough.

"I've known rats like her before, Carlisle. She's coming." she answered, giving him a small smile that she hoped he saw in the dimness of the room.

"Are you sure about this, Esme. We can just call a locksmith and have them change the locks." He suggested but Esme shook her head.

"We'll call in the morning, Carlisle Go to bed if you want to... I'll be here." she said and he just sighed in response, running his hand up the back on his neck and walking towards the couch opposite her.

"What is Jacob doing?" She asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the empty street.

"I think he was making some calls. We wanted to watch the game but since you forbade it..."

"The house needs to be dark, Carlisle. If she sees lights from TVs in the window, she'll know someone is here. I want her to be surprised."

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIIO

Carlisle's soft snores from the couch next to hers was the only sound in the room. It was getting later now, inching towards the early morning hours but still dark outside. Esme felt her eyes begin to droop and nearly succumbed to her tiredness just as the headlights of a car drifted across the front window. Esme Jumped up, watching as the darkened form she knew was Tanya exited the vehicle from the passenger side.

She quickly walked up the walkway and to the front door and Esme ran to the entrance, standing a few feet away from the door, waiting for her to come in. The lock clicked and the alarm beeped as the door opened. Tanya reached on the wall beside the door, looking for the light switch to illuminate the room and just as light flooded the room, Tanya let out a gasp and clutched her chest when she found Esme standing there, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Can I help you, Tanya?"

Tanya cleared the shocked, scared look from her face and rolled her eyes as she stepped forward, intent on walking past Esme and up to her room to collect her things.

"I'm not doing this with you right now, Esme. I'm just here to get my car and my clothes."

"Oh, no need. I got everything of yours right here," Esme said, walking over to the couch where Carlisle still laid, snoring away and picking up the garbage bag just behind it. "I packed for you, dear." She placed the bag at Tanya's feet and backed away.

"I have way more than this, Esme. Now if you'll excuse me..." she went to pass Esme once again, but Esme held her arm out, stopping her from going any further into Edward's house.

"This is everything you came here with. This is what you leave with. As for your car, I'm pretty sure I remember Edward saying something about you selling the car you had before to some person on Crags list. I hope you kept that information since you're so set on getting it back because there is no way in hell I'm letting you take the car in the garage that _my _son bought."

"Wow, Esme. You catch me off guard once and now you think you've got balls of steel, huh? What would the board think of Mrs. Cullen if they heard her now?" Tanya said with an evil smirk and her arms crossed across her chest. Esme shook her head, chuckling as she began to inch closer to Tanya.

"Sweetie, I've had balls of steel since before you were born, better yet, before you were even a thought in your mother's head. I've come across stuck up, entitled little bitches like you all my life and while in my later years nothing could be done about it, in my younger years I sure did wipe the floor with some of them and I'll tell you what, it's taking everything in me not to forget my age and show you a proper ass kicking for everything you've done."

Esme bent over, grabbing the trash bag filled with Tanya's clothes and walked to the front door. After pulling it open, she tossed the bag out onto the grass and turned around to face Tanya once again.

"If I ever see you trying to come into this house again, I will end you. Do you understand?"

Tanya didn't say a word. She just huffed and walked past Esme out the door, picking up the trash bag and making her way back to the car. Esme watched from the doorway as the car quickly backed up from the driveway and disappeared down the road before she closed the door behind her. Clicking the lock in place, she turned and smiled when she saw Carlisle wide awake on the couch with a wide grin spread across his face.

"Were you awake that whole time?" She asked, causing him to chuckle and slowly rise from the couch.

"I sure was and I have to say, that was very hot Mrs. Cullen."

"Really?" She responded with a sly smile as he stopped right in front of her, running his fingers along the buttons of her blouse.

"Really."

Their lips met and passion coursed through them both fiercely. Before long they were panting messes, tangled together on the living room floor as sweat beaded on their flesh and their clothes lay scattered all along the room. All that existed in this moment was him and her...

"Carlisle!? Esme?! I'm gonna need some fucking brain bleach after this..."

Oh. And Jacob.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to everyone that has read this story and left me such kind words. You all are amazing.<strong>  
><strong> xoxo<strong>


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